(3  , 3 . 


A  MEMORIAL 


TO 


Caleb  Thomas  Winchester 

1847-1920 

PROFESSOR  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE 
IN  WESLEYAN  UNIVERSITY 


MIDDLETOWN,   CONNECTICUT 
WESLEYAN  UNIVERSITY 


Copyright,  1921,  by 
WESLEYAN  UNIVERSITY 


Printed  by  The  Abingdon  Press 


CALEB  THOMAS  WINCHESTER 
Born  January  18,  1847  Died  March  24,  1920 

B.A..  1869;  M.A..  1872;  LL.D.,  1919;  L.H.D.  (Dickinson),  1892 

Librarian,  1869-1885 

Olin  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  English  Literature.  1873-1890 
Olin  Professor  of  English  Literature,  1890-1920 

His  genuine,  wholesome  human  nature  was  adorned  with  urbanity  of 
manner,  strengthened  by  sincerity  and  virility  of  thought,  and  enriched 
by  the  graces  of  Christian  faith  and  living.  He  revealed  to  a  rare  degree 
the  genius  for  friendship  and  the  gift  of  helpful  counsel. 

Wide  reading  and  an  unusual  faculty  for  sympathetic  as  well  as 
accurate  criticism  made  him  a  refined  and  catholic  scholar  who  translated 
his  riches  of  learning  and  fine  philosophy  of  life,  with  charm  of  expression, 
into  illuminating  lectures  and  books. 

As  a  teacher  h*  imparted  to  his  students  the  ability  to  form  sound, 
accurate,  critical  judgments  of  the  works  of  literature,  to  interpret  them 
through  full  knowledge  of  the  age  in  which  they  were  produced,  and  to 
consider  them  as  expressions  of  life  and  thought  which  should  help  to 
form  a  broad,  virile,  constructive  philosophy  of  life,  and  inspire  to  work 
with  loyalty  to  that  philosophy. 

The  half-century  of  service  of  this  best  beloved  of  Wesleyan  teachers 
has  endowed  the  University  with  a  wealth  of  noble  inspiration  and  of 
sweet  memories. 

He  was  a  Christian,  a  gentleman,  a  scholar,  and  a  teacher  tans 
reproche. 


(From  the  Wesleyan  University  Bulletin,  June,  1926) 


Caleb 


n  recognition  of  pour  clear  brain, 
pour  large  fjeart,  pour  fertile 
imagination,  pour  fine  taste  for  tfce 
beautiful  in  eberp  bomain  of  human 
life,  pour  memorp  ricfjlp  storeb  tottfj 
trea£(ure£(,pour  fascinating  anbmag= 
teal  ctjarm  of  gpeecfj  anb  influence, 
pour  brilliant  career  as  a  teacfjer  of 
Cnglteb  literature,  pour  multiform 
gerbice*  to  Wtzltpm  ^inibersttp 
tbrougbout  ti)e  fiftp  pears  since  pour 
grabuation,  9  glablp  abmit  pou  to 
tfje  begree  of  Doctor  of  iatos*  ::  :: 

(Characterization  by  President  Shanklin, 
Commencement, 


CONTENTS 

FAGB 

TABLET  FROM  WESLETAN  UNIVERSITY  BULLETIN  ,    3 
CHARACTERIZATION  FOR  HONORARY  DEGREE  ...       5 

INTRODUCTION 11 

BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 15 

Harrington:  From  Wesley  an  University  Bulletin.  ...       17 
Ryan:  From  Zions  Herald 36 

COMPLIMENTARY  DINNER 53 

Program 57 

Shanklin:  Introductory  Remarks 59 

Cross:  Address  in  Behalf  of  the  Departments  of 

English  in  New  England  Colleges  and  Universities .  62 
Gibbs:  Address  in  Behalf  of  Professor  Winchester's 

Pupils 75 

Mead:  Address  as  Colleague  in  the  Department  of 

English 82 

Rice:  Address  as  Colleague  on  the  Faculty  for  a 

Half-Century 89 

Winchester:  Response 96 

CHAPEL  SERVICE 119 

Crawford:  Prayer 121 

Dutcher:  Remarks 123 

FUNERAL 125 

Beach:  Remarks 127 

Shanklin:  Remarks 133 

WESLEY  AN  UNIVERSITY  CLUB  OF  NEW  YORK.  .   141 

Berrien:  Address 143 

MEMORIAL  SERVICE 153 

Program 155 

Rice:  Prayer 157 

Axson:  Memorial  Address 160 

7 


CONTENTS 

WlLBBAHAM  ACADEMY  MEMORIAL  EXERCISES .  .  201 
Noon:  Memories  of  Professor  Winchester  at  School 

and  College 203 

Harrington:  Professor  Winchester:  a  Model  Son  of 

Wilbraham 208 

RESOLUTIONS  AND  OTHER  TRIBUTES 213 

Board  of  Trustees 215 

Faculty 217 

College  Body 219 

Xi  Chapter  of  Psi  Upsilon 220 

Wesleyan  University  Club  of  New  York 221 

New  York  East  Conference 222 

First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Middletown. . .  224 

Conversational  Club 227 

Personal  Tributes 230 

PRESS  NOTICES 239 

Christian  Advocate,  1919 241 

Wesleyan  Alumnus 243 

Tribute  by  Professor  Rice 248 

Tribute  by  Professor  Kuhns 251 

Tribute  by  Professor  Thorn  dike 251 

Tribute  by  Professor  Given 254 

Wesleyan  Argus 260 

New  York  Evening  Post 262 

Christian  Advocate,  1920 264 

The  Review 266 

A  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  THE    PUBLISHED    WRIT- 
INGS OF  PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 269 

PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER  AS   A   PUBLIC   LEC- 
TURER    281 

PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER'S  COURSES  IN  WES- 
LEYAN UNIVERSITY.  .                                 .  299 


8 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PORTRAIT  OF  PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER. Frontispiece 

FACING    PAGE 

PROFESSOR  AND  MRS.  WINCHESTER  ON  PORCH 

OF  THEIR  HOME 23 

PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER'S  RESIDENCE 49 

WESLETAN  FACULTY,  1872 106 

WESLEYAN  FACULTY,  1915 198 

AFTER  THE  1919  COMMENCEMENT  .  .  248 


9 


INTRODUCTION 

THROUGHOUT  its  history  the  pride  of  We*- 
leyan  University  has  been  its  faculty.  In 
the  ninety  years  which  have  elapsed  since  its 
founding  thirteen1  of  the  sixty-six  persons 
who  have  held  full  professorships  have  oc- 
cupied that  position  for  a  quarter-century 
or  more.  These  are  the  men  who,  by  their 
long  periods  of  service,  have,  naturally,  con- 
tributed in  the  largest  degree  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  high  repute  of  the  Wesleyan 
faculty  and  to  the  moulding  of  the  scholarly 
traditions  of  the  institution.  It  has,  more- 
over, been  the  rare  good  fortune  of  Wes- 
leyan that  three  of  these  distinguished  schol- 
ars and  teachers,  John  Monroe  Van  Vleck, 
William  North  Rice,  and  Caleb  Thomas 

*In  order  of  length  of  incumbency  of  full  professorship 
they  are:  William  North  Rice,  1867-1918;  Caleb  Thomas 
Winchester,  1873-1920;  John  Monroe  Van  Vleck,  1858-1904; 
James  Cooke  Van  Benschoten,  1863-1902;  Morris  Barker 
Crawford,  1884-  ;  John  Johnston,  1837-1873;  Andrew 
Campbell  Armstrong,  1888-  ;  Wilbur  Olin  Atwater,  1874- 
1907;  Herbert  William  Conn,  1888-1917;  William  Edward 
Mead,  1893-  ;  Oscar  Kuhns,  1893-  ;  Augustus  William 
Smith,  1831-1857;  Calvin  Sears  Harrington,  1861-1886. 

11 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

Winchester,  each  thus  served  in  its  faculty 
through  more  than  half  its  history.  These 
three  long-time  colleagues  and  friends  have, 
by  their  scholarly  and  inspiring  teaching, 
their  abundant  and  sacrificing  service,  their 
noble  and  upright  lives,  endowed  Wesleyan 
with  a  rich  heritage  of  enduring  achieve- 
ments and  precious  memories. 

It  is  no  depreciation  of  any  other  on  this 
honored  faculty  roll  to  say  that  none  was 
better  beloved  and  none  has  wielded  wider 
and  finer  influence  through  his  personality 
and  his  teaching  than  Professor  Winches- 
ter. Such  tributes  as  the  complimentary 
dinner  arranged  in  his  honor  by  his  former 
students  in  1919  and  the  authorization  by  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  publication  of  this 
memorial  volume  are  but  superficial  evi- 
dences of  the  love  and  admiration  which 
Professor  Winchester,  as  friend  and  teacher, 
awakened  in  the  hearts  of  more  than  fifty 
classes  of  Wesleyan  students.  Every  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  trustees  and  every  col- 
league in  the  faculty  valued  Professor 
Winchester's  friendship  as  a  rare  and  rich 
privilege.  Though  each  may  not  utter  his 
own  grateful  encomium  on  Professor  Win- 

12 


INTRODUCTION 

Chester,  and  though  there  is  much  that  is  too 
deep  and  too  intimately  precious  to  find  ut- 
terance, yet  Wesleyan  cannot  deny  itself 
the  privilege  of  recording  through  the  fol- 
lowing pages  the  words  of  a  few  in  whose 
sentiments  all  will  join  with  hearty  accord. 
The  undersigned  committee,  appointed  by 
the  board  of  trustees  to  prepare  this  volume, 
desire  to  express  their  appreciation  to  the 
several  speakers,  writers,  and  publishers  for 
the  permission  to  use  the  materials  here  pre- 
sented, and  to  thank  others  who  have  aided 
in  divers  ways  in  the  work  of  compilation. 
The  editorial  work  has  been  delegated  by 
the  committee  to  one  of  their  number,  Vice- 
President  Dutcher,  who  has  also  prepared 
the  sections  relating  to  Professor  Winches- 
ter's publications,  lectures,  and  courses  of 
instruction. 

WILLIAM  ARNOLD  SHANKLIN, 

DAVID  GEORGE  DOWNEY, 

STOCKTON  AXSON, 

GEORGE  MATTHEW  DUTCHER, 

Committee. 
Wesleyan  University, 
March  24,  1921. 


13 


BIOGRAPHICAL 
ACCOUNTS 


CALEB    THOMAS    WINCHESTER 

BY     PROFESSOR     KARL     POMEROY     HAR- 
RINGTON, '82* 

WITH  the  death  of  Professor  Caleb 
Thomas  Winchester,  for  more  than  a  half 
century  a  prominent  figure  in  the  faculty  of 
Wesleyan  University,  is  marked  the  end  of 
an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  institution. 
For  "Winch,"  as  all  his  students  and  col- 
leagues fondly  called  him,  was  the  last  of  that 
group  of  master  men  whose  half -century  of 
service  linked  the  Wesleyan  of  the  present 
with  that  day  of  small  things  and  high  ideals 
that  existed  on  this  campus  in  the  period 
just  subsequent  to  the  Civil  War,  and  whose 
steady  loyalty,  clear  vision,  and  mature 
judgment  played  so  important  a  part  in  the 
evolution  of  the  greater  Wesleyan.  As  a 
somewhat  bashful  freshman,  young  Win- 
chester was  one  of  a  college  body  totaling 
one  hundred  and  twenty-one  students,  while 
the  corps  of  instruction  comprised  the  pres- 
ident, five  professors,  and  one  instructor. 

*  Reprinted  from  the   Wesleyan   University  Bulletin,  June 
1920,  with  some  additions. 

17 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

No  special  buildings  for  library,  chapel,  sci- 
entific laboratories,  or  museums  yet  graced 
the  campus;  and  the  combined  college  and 
society  libraries  amounted  to  but  fourteen 
thousand  volumes.  Of  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty-one  students  only  two  were  enrolled 
in  the  so-called  "scientific  course"  designed 
for  those  who  had  in  view  "the  business  pur- 
suits of  active  life,"  while  the  rank  and  file, 
who  were  mostly  headed  for  some  profes- 
sional career,  pursued  a  fairly  rigid  course 
of  Latin,  Greek,  mathematics,  and  science, 
for  the  first  three  years,  with  such  subjects 
as  evidences  of  Christianity,  international 
law,  and  Butler's  Analogy  emphasized  in 
the  senior  year,  and  declamation  and  com- 
position required  throughout  the  whole 
period  of  four  years — a  course  which,  if  an- 
tiquated in  the  eyes  of  the  present  genera- 
tion, produced  from  even  that  small  com- 
pany of  undergraduates  a  Knapp  and  an 
Olin  in  law,  a  Hendrix  in  the  church,  a  Car- 
hart  in  science,  and  a  Winchester  in  liter- 
ature. 

He  was  born  in  a  Methodist  parsonage  at 
Uncasville,1  Connecticut,  in  1847.   He  pre- 

1  In  the  town  of  Montville,  New  London  County. 

18 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

pared  for  college  at  Wilbraham,  where  he 
won  distinction  by  those  intellectual  and 
social  qualities  which  were  later  to  come  to 
such  noble  fruitage.  Here  too,  in  one  of  the 
famous  literary  societies  in  the  school,  he 
gained  recognition  for  his  command  of  lan- 
guage, and  laid  the  foundations  for  the  emi- 
nent faculty  for  public  expression  which 
made  his  name  known  from  sea  to  sea. 

On  entering  Wesleyan  in  1865,  he,  with 
two  of  his  Wilbraham  classmates,  joined  the 
Xi  chapter  of  the  Psi  Upsilon  fraternity,  to 
the  life  of  which  his  loyalty,  geniality,  and 
wisdom  contributed  an  important  influence 
for  more  than  half  a  century.  His  college 
activities  were  along  intellectual  lines,  as  was 
the  fashion  of  the  time.  One  of  the  first 
men  of  his  class  in  general  scholarship,  he 
shone  throughout  his  course  in  rhetorical 
achievements.  His  Sophomore  Exhibition 
oration  upon  Hawthorne  and  Thackeray 
appeared  in  the  Argus  in  his  senior  year, 
probably  without  essential  alteration,  and 
exhibits  his  notable  ability  to  single  out  the 
elements  of  vital  importance  in  an  author 
and  sum  them  up  succinctly. 

At  the  Junior  Exhibition  his  name  ap- 
19 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

peared  on  the  program  for  a  discussion  with 
A.  F.  Chase  of  the  comparative  utility  of 
the  mathematics  and  the  classics.  In  com- 
petition for  the  Rich  prize  he  spoke  on  Oli- 
ver Goldsmith,  having  previously  delivered 
a  noteworthy  "chapel  piece"  on  the  same 
subject,  in  which  had  been  remarked  that 
peculiar  gift  of  his  of  introducing  his  audi- 
ence to  a  personal  acquaintance  with  an 
author.  His  Commencement  speech  was 
an  "ancient  classical  oration"  on  Homer. 
Deeply  interested  in  philosophy,  he  cap- 
tured the  metaphysics  prize,  and  shared  in 
a  division  of  a  prize  in  moral  philosophy. 
By  the  end  of  his  junior  year  he  was  able  to 
succeed,  where  so  many  had  failed,  in  writ- 
ing a  poem  worthy  to  take  the  Taylor  poetry 
prize.  The  title  was  Somnia,  and  the  poem 
appeared  in  the  Argus  the  next  September. 
The  Olin  prize  too  was  easily  his,  for  the 
Argus  report  of  his  Rich  prize  oration  re- 
marks that  in  it  "he  fully  sustained  the  rep- 
utation which  he  has  so  fairly  earned  of  be- 
ing the  first  writer  of  his  class."  The  Argus 
itself  had  come  into  being  during  his  junior 
year,  and  he  was  elected  to  its  first  full-term 
board  of  editors  for  his  senior  year. 
20 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

The  glee  club  then  consisted  of  a  quartet 
of  which  he,  always  enthusiastically  fond  of 
music,  was  a  member.  Occasionally  it  went 
out  of  town  to  give  a  concert.  He  was  chair- 
man of  the  committee  on  music  for  class  day, 
and  at  least  one  of  the  songs  was  of  his  own 
authorship.  It  began : 

Like  a  dream  that  passeth  fleetly, 

and  under  the  title  "Farewell  Song"  appears 
now  in  the  Wesleyan  Song  Book.  One  of 
the  best  features  of  the  exercises  on  that  day 
was  the  prophecy,  which  he  wrote,  and  which 
was  highly  commended. 

Professor  Winchester  used  to  tell  with 
much  glee  the  story  of  his  first  arrival  in 
Middletown  with  two  or  three  comrades; 
how,  after  passing  four  or  five  different  cem- 
eteries on  the  way  to  the  college  grounds,  he 
facetiously  remarked  that  they  would  be 
lucky  if  they  ever  got  out  of  this  town  alive ! 
In  a  sense  the  remark  was  prophetic;  for 
from  the  time  he  first  reached  Middletown 
as  a  freshman  he  never  knew  any  other  home. 

Upon  his  graduation  in  1869  he  was  ap- 
pointed librarian.  The  system  of  catalogu- 
ing introduced  by  Professor  Van  Vleck  and 

21 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

extended  by  Professor  Rice  was  now  car- 
ried through  the  entire  collection.  Some 
of  the  old  cards  are  still  to  be  seen,  in  the 
handwriting  of  Van  Vleck,  Rice,  or  Win- 
chester. In  those  days  the  library,  which  had 
just  been  installed  in  Rich  Hall,  was  open 
only  two  or  three  days  in  the  week,  and  then 
but  for  an  hour  or  two.  But  in  spite  of  its 
relatively  minor  place  in  the  life  of  the  col- 
lege, the  new  librarian  was  able  to  inaugu- 
rate various  important  features  of  that 
policy  which  has  resulted  in  the  splendid  col- 
lection of  to-day.  For  four  years  he  gave 
himself  chiefly  to  his  duties  as  librarian,  and 
although  after  that  his  time  was  mainly  oc- 
cupied in  other  departmental  work,  he  con- 
tinued as  librarian  until  1885.  In  1873  he 
was  appointed  Olin  Professor  of  Rhetoric 
and  English  Literature;  after  1890  he  was 
Olin  Professor  of  English  Literature. 
When  he  was  invited  to  the  professorship 
of  English  literature  at  the  reorganization 
of  the  University  of  Chicago,  the  temptation 
was  strong.  But  the  universal  protest  from 
Wesleyan  men,  his  own  loyalty  to  his  alma 
mater,  and  his  devotion  to  his  home  in  Mid- 
dletown,  were  among  the  many  reasons  that 
22 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

led  him  to  decline.  His  love  for  his  home 
was  always  touching:  by  the  shore,  or  at  the 
mountains,  or  amid  the  rose  gardens  of  Cal- 
ifornia, his  thoughts  ever  turned  fondly 
back  to  his  own  home  on  High  Street,  com- 
manding the  most  attractive  bit  of  scenery 
in  Middletown.  He  always  showed  a  ten- 
der interest  in  his  flowers  and  took  fond  care 
of  "Rab,"  the  Airedale,  and  little  lame 
"Jackie,"  the  Boston  bull.  He  lived  an  ideal 
family  life.  He  is  survived  by  Mrs.  Win- 
chester, nee  Alice  Goodwin  Smith,  whom  he 
married  in  1880,  and  by  his  son  Julian  Caleb, 
whose  mother,  nee  Julia  Stackpole  Smith, 
died  in  1877. 

In  his  teaching  of  rhetoric  and  literature 
Professor  Winchester  blazed  essentially 
new  trails.  Himself  a  master  of  the  art  of 
composition,  he  adopted  the  method  of 
meeting  each  individual  student  for  per- 
sonal conference.  He  also  prescribed  care- 
fully elaborated  lists  of  subjects  calling  for 
different  styles  of  writing.  English  litera- 
ture in  his  own  undergraduate  days  had  been 
little  more  than  a  name  in  the  curriculum. 
There  was  only  a  single  course,  with  a  text- 
book that  did  little  but  summarize  facts. 
23 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

The  Winchester  idea  was  to  study  the  liter- 
ature itself,  at  first  hand;  while  his  primary 
principle  of  criticism  was  to  know  what  you 
like  or  do  not  like,  and  why.  Early  in  his 
teaching  he  prepared  several  series  of  read- 
ings in  English  literature,  by  periods,  and 
arranged  his  courses  to  include  three  ele- 
ments: text-book  study  about  the  authors, 
class-room  reading  and  criticism  of  epochal 
writers  like  Chaucer,  Shakespeare,  and  Mil- 
ton, and  private  reading  of  one  or  another 
of  the  aforementioned  series  of  selections. 
Not  only  were  his  courses  of  readings  pub- 
lished in  due  time  for  the  benefit  of  other 
institutions  and  the  general  public,  but  as  a 
leading  member  of  the  national  committee 
on  requirements  in  English  for  admission 
to  college,  he  was  largely  instrumental  in 
introducing  into  American  secondary  edu- 
cation the  practice  of  studying  English  from 
masterpieces  of  its  literature. 

Every  Wesleyan  student  wanted  to  elect 
courses  with  "Winch,"  the  master  teacher. 
His  charming  conversational  style  intro- 
duced one  to  the  author  as  a  personal  friend, 
whom  one  might  come  to  know  intimately, 
so  that  one  more  clearly  understood  the  mo- 

24 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

tive,  occasion,  and  circumstances  of  the  writ- 
ings concerned,  and  better  estimated  their 
literary  value.  And  the  piercing  intellectual 
vision  of  this  prince  of  teachers,  who  ever 
loved  the  good  and  the  beautiful  and  de- 
spised the  ugly  and  the  evil,  disclosed  what 
was  worth  while  in  each  literary  work  and 
led  his  pupils  to  set  up  sane  standards  of 
criticism.  His  keen  analysis  tore  away  the 
mask  from  many  a  pretentious  bit  of  mere 
rhetoric.  So  for  anything  ignoble  in  its  ten- 
dency, like  many  a  so-called  realistic  novel, 
and  for  the  hideous  formlessness  of  much  of 
the  alleged  poetry  of  modern  faddists,  he 
had  little  but  contempt.  Here  too,  in  the 
field  of  criticism,  he  was  a  pioneer;  for  his 
Principles  of  Literary  Criticism,  embodying 
the  ideals  that  he  had  set  before  successive 
classes,  proved  a  revelation  and  an  inspira- 
tion to  teachers  in  all  literatures. 

The  high  character  of  the  standards  that 
he  set  not  only  for  himself,  but  also  for  his 
students,  was  periodically  revealed  in  his 
examination  papers.  With  the  habit  of  shirk- 
ing the  rather  irksome  task  of  carefully  pre- 
paring an  examination  paper  he  had  no  sym- 
pathy. He  used  to  say  that  it  meant  about 

25 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

a  half -day's  hard  work  to  prepare  a  really 
good  paper ;  and  a  student  who  had  any  real 
appreciation  of  the  subject  must,  on  com- 
pleting an  examination  of  his,  with  its  search- 
ing test  of  acquaintance  with  the  authors, 
have  felt  a  certain  proud  satisfaction  in  hav- 
ing really  learned  something  worth  while. 

Such  mastery  of  the  field  of  literature  and 
of  the  right  principles  of  criticism  naturally 
found  expression  in  various  kinds  of  activ- 
ity. Besides  producing  such  books  as  The 
Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  Papers,  A  Group  of 
English  Essayists,  and  Wordsworth,  How 
to  Know  Him,  he  was  for  many  years  asso- 
ciated with  Professor  Kittredge,  of  Harvard 
University,  in  the  editorship  of  the  Athenae- 
um Press  series  of  English  texts.  Some  oc- 
casional papers  or  articles  for  periodical 
literature  were  developed  later  to  larger  pro- 
portions. Thus  the  address  on  John  Wes- 
ley the  Man,  given  at  the  Wesley  bicenten- 
nial, had  become  in  1906  The  Life  of  John 
Wesley,  one  of  the  most  successful  and 
widely  known  of  his  books.  When,  as  a 
young  man,  he  was  invited  to  lecture  in  Mid- 
dletown,  and  spoke  in  his  delightfully  inti- 
mate and  conversational  manner  on  London 
26 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

a  Hundred  Years  Ago,  illustrating  his  talk 
with  crayon  sketches  made  by  Mrs.  Win- 
chester, he  achieved  instant  success,  and  be- 
gan a  career  of  many  years  of  lecturing. 
For  such  lecturing  he  was  in  constant  de- 
mand by  educational  institutions,  clubs,  and 
other  organizations.  For  more  than  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century  he  gave  annually  a  course  of 
lectures  at  Wells  College;  and  as  a  visiting 
lecturer  he  also  gave  various  series  at  Johns 
Hopkins,  Wisconsin,  Northwestern,  and 
other  universities. 

In  the  varied  activities  and  relationships 
as  a  member  of  the  faculty,  Professor  Win- 
chester's services  were  given  modestly  but 
without  stint.  His  fine  spirit  of  courtesy 
and  of  consideration  for  others,  his  genial 
sense  of  humor,  his  abiding  sense  of  fitness, 
his  wise  insight,  broad  outlook,  and  liberal- 
mindedness,  tempered  by  his  wide  reading, 
earnest  thinking,  and  long  experience,  ever 
commanded  the  admiration  and  affection  of 
his  colleagues,  who  always  gave  careful  heed 
to  his  counsel  in  faculty  and  committee 
meetings,  and  who  valued  his  confidence  and 
advice  in  personal  affairs.  Throughout  his 
membership  in  the  faculty  he  was  almost  in- 

27 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

variably  a  member  of  the  committees, 
whether  regular  or  special,  which  dealt  with 
questions  of  appointments  and  of  curricu- 
lum, and  other  matters  of  academic  policy. 
Owing  to  his  efforts  the  university  under- 
took in  1889  the  publishing  of  a  semi-annual 
Bulletin,  and  until  his  death  he  continued  as 
chairman  of  the  committee  charged  with 
editing  it.  For  a  long  period  of  years  he 
was  also  the  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
public  literary  exercises,  and  gave  ungrudg- 
ingly his  services  in  meeting  the  manifold 
and  tedious  demands  involved.  His  mem- 
bership on  the  library  committee  also  con- 
tinued until  his  death,  and  was  ever  marked 
by  a  lively  interest  in  all  details  affecting  the 
upbuilding  of  that  institution. 

When  in  1901  a  new  hymnal  was  planned 
for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  he  was 
selected  as  a  member  of  the  first  commission 
appointed  for  its  preparation.  And  when, 
soon  afterward,  it  was  decided  to  have  a 
joint  commission  representing  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church  South  as  well,  and  a 
more  comprehensive  book,  he  was  reap- 
pointed  on  this  second  commission,  and 
played  an  important  part  in  shaping  that 
28 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

admirable  collection  of  noble  hymnology, 
The  Methodist  Hymnal.  Meanwhile  he  was 
elected  a  lay  representative  to  the  General 
Conference  of  his  church  which  met  in  Los 
Angeles  in  1904,  and  was  there  appointed 
on  a  committee  to  revise  the  ritual  of  the 
church.  He  took  an  active  interest  jn  the 
music  as  well  as  in  the  literature  of  the 
hymnal.  Of  coaxing  melodies  and  winning 
movements  he  was  exceedingly  fond,  some- 
times jestingly  acknowledging  his  suscepti- 
bility to  certain  favorites  which  he  dubbed 
"pewee"  tunes.  To  one  of  his  colleagues  he 
sent  Dean  Alf  ord's  stanza  beginning, 

My  bark  is  wafted  to  the  strand 
By  breath  divine," 

accompanied  by  a  penciled  melody,  and 
wrote:  "Behold  my  first  musical  produc- 
tion! A  one-finger  tune  for  one  of  the  new 
hymns."  This  was  one  of  the  hymns  sung 
at  his  funeral,  set  to  this  original  music.  In 
these  matters  of  musical  fitness  his  taste  was 
unerring.  Of  a  given  tune  he  wrote,  "I 

don't  like ;  it  seems  to  me  altogether  too 

uproariously  exultant — not  solemn  enough 

in  its  gladness."     And  when  his  lifelong 

29 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

friend,  Professor  "Ben"  Gill,  sent  in  an 
original  tune  for  another  favorite  hymn, 

Come,  let  us  join  our  friends  above, 

he  wrote:  "I  do  think  it  is  way  ahead  of 
anything  yet.  It  is  simple,  noble,  strong, 
yet  with  two  or  three  plaintive  strains  in  it. 
As  Ben  says,  'swell  out  on  it,  and  see  if  you 
like  it.'  ...  It  sounds  like  Ben  and  all  good 
old  strong,  true  things — like  old  times,  and 
like  the  hope  of  better  new  times."  In  re- 
cent years  he  took  much  delight  in  his  pia- 
nola, by  means  of  which  he  familiarized  him- 
self with  many  musical  masterpieces.  He 
would  say,  "Come  over,  and  I'll  pump  you 
a  lovely  thing  I've  just  bought."  Or  at  the 
symphony  concert  he  would  lean  over  and 
remark  about  some  bewitching  number, 
"I've  got  that  for  my  pianola." 

In  all  matters  of  political  and  civic  nature, 
Professor  Winchester  took  a  keen  and  intel- 
ligent interest,  and  gave  his  voice  and  vote 
as  one  who  loved  righteousness  and  hated 
iniquity.  Though  he  never  took  an  active 
part  in  public  affairs,  he  was  universally  es- 
teemed as  an  ideal  citizen.  For  many  years 
he  served  faithfully  as  trustee  and  secretary 
30 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

of  the  Russell  Library,  the  public  library  of 
Middletown. 

Another  of  his  idols  in  later  life  was  the 
reorganized  academy  at  Wilbraham,  the 
scene  of  his  early  awakening  to  social  and 
intellectual  enthusiasms.  With  rare  vision 
he  saw  the  line  of  development  that  the  old 
school  must  take,  and  as  president  of  its 
new  board  of  trustees  witnessed  before  his 
death  much  of  the  fulfilment  of  his  hopes. 

Always  and  everywhere  Professor  Win- 
chester was  the  courtly  gentleman,  the  loyal 
friend,  the  thorough  and  discriminating 
scholar,  the  unique  teacher,  the  fascinating 
conversationalist,  the  discerning  critic,  the 
lover  of  the  beautiful  and  the  good,  the  ear- 
nest and  faithful  Christian.  His  dignity 
and  courtliness  were  not  austerity,  but  gen- 
tility. Those  fortunate  enough  to  be  his 
more  intimate  friends  frequently  marvelled 
at  the  genuine  simplicity  of  his  nature,  at 
his  often  almost  boyish  glee  over  a  new  idea, 
new  book,  a  bit  of  music,  or  a  new  story.  His 
gift  of  humorous  repartee  was  remarkable. 
"Cultivate  a  well-rounded,  a  globular  char- 
acter," urged  a  speaker  addressing  the  col- 
lege. "Evidently,  then,"  remarked  Winch, 
31 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

"the  perfect  character  would  be  a  pill!" 
Again,  in  suggesting  a  somewhat  "lyrical" 
tune  for  a  certain  hymn,  he  wrote,  "It's  not 
unlike  Lyons — I  thought  we  might  call  it 
The  Lady  of  Lyons;  but  as  that  might  be 
rather  secular,  what  think  you  of  Lyonesse?" 
Repeatedly  did  he  quote  Chaucer's  well- 
known  line  as  expressing  the  ideal  charac- 
teristics of  a  Christian  gentleman, 

Trouthe  and  honour,  f redom  and  curteisie. 

This  ideal  he  exemplified  in  his  life,  seven 
days  in  the  week,  in  his  classroom,  in  faculty 
meeting,  in  his  church,  which  he  so  devotedly 
supported,  in  the  Conversational  Club  and 
the  Apostles'  Club,  which  he  charmed  with 
his  papers  and  his  conversation,  as  president 
of  the  local  Phi  Beta  Kappa  society,  in  civic 
duties,  in  private  life.  But  his  freedom  of 
thought  and  of  action,  for  himself  and  for 
his  fellows,  was  no  jelly-fish  apathy  toward 
error  as  the  equal  of  truth.  He  would  surely 
have  approved  a  recent  article  in  the  Atlan- 
tic on  the  virtue  of  intolerance,  though  him- 
self most  tolerant  of  others'  opinions  and 
beliefs.  The  change  in  undergraduate  ideals 
he  deeply  deplored,  believing  that  undue  im- 
32 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

portance  was  attached  to  the  athletic  and 
the  physical,  and  protesting  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  teach  English  literature  success- 
fully to  students  who  knew  neither  the  an- 
cient classics  nor  the  English  Bible.  He 
often  lamented  in  recent  years  that  few  stu- 
dents could  intelligently  read  aloud  a  liter- 
ary passage. 

Devoted  pupils  everywhere  believe  him 
the  most  generally  beloved  and  widely  ad- 
mired teacher  that  Wesleyan  has  ever  had. 
Likewise  they  will  not  forget  his  deeply  reli- 
gious character,  his  simple  faith,  and  his 
daily  life  of  Christian  service.  A  favorite 
hymn  of  his,  expressing  excellently  his  firm 
conviction  that  Christianity  should  find  ex- 
pression in  every  detail  of  daily  life,  and 
that  one  should  avoid  artificial  distinctions 
between  so-called  "sacred"  and  "secular"  af- 
fairs, was  that  familiar  one  originally  writ- 
ten by  George  Herbert,  and  altered  into 
more  singable  form  by  John  Wesley,  whose 
fourth  stanza  now  reads : 

If  done  to  obey  thy  laws, 

E'en  servile  labors  shine; 
Hallowed  is  toil,  if  this  the  cause, 

The  meanest  work,  divine. 

33 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

How  often  has  he  been  heard  to  say  that 
Herbert's  original  draft  of  this  stanza,  with 
its  concrete,  if  homely,  illustration,  seemed 
to  him  fully  as  effective : 

A  servant  with  this  clause1 

Makes  drudgery  divine: 
Who  sweeps  a  room,  as  for  thy  laws, 

Makes  that  and  th'  action  fine. 

And  the  last  stanza  of  another  favorite  hymn 
of  his,  by  John  Ellerton,  which  he  has  so 
often  given  out  in  conducting  chapel  exer- 
cises, found  exemplification  in  his  life  before 
God  and  man: 

Work  shall  be  prayer,  if  all  be  wrought 

As  thou  wouldst  have  it  done; 
And  prayer,  by  thee  inspired  and  taught, 

Itself  with  work  be  one. 

Yet  those  who,  year  after  year,  experienced 
the  inspiration  and  uplift  of  his  devout 
prayers  at  chapel  services  realized  that  his 
was  no  religion  of  mere  good  works,  but  that 
he  strove  ever  to  teach  the  doctrine  voiced 
in  his  own  matchless  educational  hymn, 
originally  written  for  the  dedication  of 
Orange  Judd  Hall  of  Natural  Science: 

14iFor  thy  sake." 

34 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

And  let  those  learn,  who  here  shall  meet, 
True  wisdom  is  with  reverence  crowned, 

And  science  walks  with  humble  feet 

To  seek  the  God  that  faith  hath  found. 

The  very  latest  product  of  his  pen  to  see 
the  light  consists  of  the  prayers  which  ac- 
company two  services  in  the  recently  pub- 
lished Chapel  Service  Book.  One  of  them 
accompanies  the  hymn,  a  part  of  which  has 
just  been  quoted,  the  Scripture  passage  se- 
lected to  go  with  it  being  the  ninety-fifth 
psalm.  A  single  sentence  in  this  prayer  epit- 
omizes his  religion:  "Open  thou  our  eyes 
that  we  may  see  thy  wondrous  works  in  earth 
and  sea  and  sky;  increase  our  faith  that  we 
may  know  thee  a  God  not  afar  off  but  nigh 
unto  each  one  of  us;  help  us  to  yield  our 
hearts  in  willing  obedience  to  thy  law,  and 
our  lives  in  loving  devotion  to  thy  service; 
all  which  we  ask  in  the  name  of  thy  Son,  our 
Saviour,  Jesus  Christ." 


FIFTY    YEARS    OF    PROFESSOR 
WINCHESTER 

BY  STETSON  KILBOURNE  RYAN,  '04* 

NEW  ENGLAND  Methodism,  and  friends 
of  the  church  elsewhere,  will  be  interested 
in  the  approaching  fiftieth  anniversary  of 
the  graduation  of  the  class  of  1869  at  Wes- 
leyan  University,  at  Middletown,  Connecti- 
cut, for  it  will  point  attention  to  the  fact 
that  another  name — that  of  Professor  Caleb 
Thomas  Winchester,  who  was  a  member  of 
this  class — has  been  added  to  the  honored 
group  of  men  who  have  served  upon  the  fac- 
ulty of  their  alma  mater  for  half  a  century. 
In  1904  the  late  Professor  John  M.  Van 
Vleck,  a  graduate  of  the  class  of  1850,  who 
had  served  the  university  for  fifty  years  upon 
its  teaching  force,  and  at  intervals  as  acting 
president,  was  made  professor  emeritus, 
while  only  last  June  Professor  William 
North  Rice,  for  more  than  fifty  years  a  mem- 
ber of  the  faculty,  and  at  times  acting  presi- 
dent, retired  from  active  teaching  duties. 

*  Reprinted  by  permission  from  Zion's  Herald,  May  14, 
1919,  with  some  minor  alterations. 

36 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

Now  Professor  Winchester,  who  was  chosen 
librarian  at  Wesleyan  upon  his  graduation, 
is  closing  fifty  years  of  noteworthy  work  at 
this  oldest  Methodist  Episcopal  collegiate 
institution  in  this  country. 

In  his  essay  on  Hazlitt,  we  find  Profes- 
sor Winchester  asserting  that  "the  years 
from  fourteen  to  twenty-one  are  probably 
the  determining  period  of  every  man's  life." 
If  that  is  true,  the  little  community  of  Mid- 
dleboro,  Massachusetts,  and  its  environs, 
which  adjoin  Plymouth,  and  the  halls  of 
the  old  academy  at  Wilbraham,  Massachu- 
setts, and  the  inviting  hillsides  near  by,  left 
their  impress  upon  the  heart  and  life  of  this 
long-time  Wesleyan  professor.  Although 
his  father  and  his  grandfather,  upon  his 
father's  side,  were  Methodist  ministers,  it 
was  not  alone  in  a  Methodist  parsonage  that 
he  received  his  boyhood  training.  When  the 
lad  was  eight  years  old  his  father  was  sta- 
tioned as  preacher  in  Middleboro  and  moved 
his  family  to  a  small  farm  in  that  town,  which 
his  wife  had  inherited,  and  which  remained 
the  family  home  for  ten  years.  His  mater- 
nal grandmother's  name  was  Le  Baron,  and 
she  was  fifth  in  line  from  Dr.  Francis  Le 
37 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

Baron,  a  surgeon  in  a  French  privateer 
wrecked  off  the  coast  of  Buzzard's  Bay,  who 
died  in  1704,  and  was  buried  on  Burial  Hill 
in  Plymouth.  In  her  book,  The  Nameless 
Nobleman,  Mrs.  Mary  Austin  of  Concord 
has  set  forth  this  event  in  fiction.  At  what 
is  now  Brookline,  Massachusetts,  in  1635, 
the  Winchester  side  of  the  family  settled  in 
this  country.  It  was  thus  within  a  short  dis- 
tance of  the  abode  of  his  ancestors  that  the 
boy  spent  his  early  youth. 

In  his  classes  in  English  literature  at  Wes- 
leyan,  the  writer  has  heard  Professor  Win- 
chester say,  in  one  of  those  delightful  digres- 
sions which  illumine  all  of  his  lectures,  that 
some  of  the  characters  in  Mary  E.  Wilkins's 
books  made  him  think  of  his  home  folk.  At 
any  rate,  the  young  man  was  acquiring  a 
workable  knowledge  of  human  nature  as  he 
moved  among  these  shrewd,  thrifty  Yankees, 
that  was  to  stand  him  in  good  stead  in  later 
years  in  his  life  work.  One  of  the  surest 
holds  that  Professor  Winchester  has  upon 
the  young  men  in  his  classes  and  upon  the 
public,  in  his  lectures,  is  the  extraordinary 
insight  that  he  has  into  human  actions  and 
motives,  and  the  unusual  common  sense,  hu- 
38 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

man  sympathy,  and  perception  of  propor- 
tion with  which  he  presents  the  subject 
matter. 

Life  upon  the  farm  also  found  him  lay- 
ing up  a  goodly  store  of  robust  health,  so 
that  in  later  life  he  did  not  feel  the  need  of 
athletic  activities.  Farms  in  that  region  in 
those  days  needed  no  little  coaxing,  and  life 
in  the  open  also  found  the  young  man  learn- 
ing how  to  use  his  hands.  There  was  a  good 
academy  in  Middleboro,  from  which  he  en- 
tered Wesleyan  Academy  at  Wilbraham  for 
his  last  year  of  preparatory  study,  and  there 
he,  from  the  outset,  took  high  rank.  The  in- 
spiration of  those  days  has  not  been  dimmed 
by  passing  years.  When  we  find  him  pay- 
ing tender  tribute,  many  years  later,  at  the 
funeral  services  of  his  friend,  the  late  Ben- 
jamin Gill,  at  Wilbraham,  there  wells  up 
spontaneously  in  the  generous,  genuine 
words  of  the  speaker  the  ineffaceable  mem- 
ory of  the  schoolboy  days  at  Wilbraham. 
His  loyalty  to  the  school  has  been  outstand- 
ing, and  at  the  present  time  he  is  the  presi- 
dent of  the  board  of  trustees. 

When  the  young  man  came  to  Wesleyan, 
in  the  fall  of  1865,  "a  long,  lean,  lank,  white- 
39 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

haired  duffer,"  as  he  puts  it,  he  found  the 
massive,  energetic,  and  forceful  Joseph 
Cummings  serving  as  president,  the  lovable 
Dr.  John  Johnston  just  bringing  to  a  close 
his  splendid  years  of  service  in  the  depart- 
ment of  natural  science,  the  brilliant  Fales 
Henry  Newhall  serving  in  the  department 
of  rhetoric  and  English  literature,  Rev.  Cal- 
vin Sears  Harrington  in  Latin,  with  James 
Cooke  Van  Benschoten  as  his  colleague  in 
Greek,  John  Monroe  Van  Vleck  as  pro- 
fessor of  mathematics,  and  William  North 
Rice  about  to  start  upon  what  was  to  be  a 
career  of  marked  success.  President  Cum- 
mings was  just  in  the  middle  period  of  his 
term  of  office,  which  resulted  so  auspiciously 
for  Wesleyan  in  the  addition  of  needed 
buildings.  The  importance  of  physical  sci- 
ence was  coming  to  be  recognized  and  the 
college  curriculum  was  being  broadened  by 
the  influence  of  the  younger  men  like  Pro- 
fessors Van  Vleck  and  Rice.  Those  were 
stirring  days,  and  it  was  good  to  be  alive. 

The    class    of    1869    sent    twenty-seven 

young  men  out  from  the  college  halls.     It 

was  a  worthy  class.    George  Edward  Reed 

later  became  president  of  Dickinson  Col- 

40 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

lege,  and  Tamerlane  Pliny  Marsh  of  Mount 
Union  College.  Henry  Smith  Carhart  was 
for  many  years  professor  of  physics  at  the 
University  of  Michigan  and  now,  professor 
emeritus,  is  living  at  Pasadena,  California.1 
Wilbur  Fisk  Crafts  has  been  long  promi- 
nent in  reform  work,  while  the  late  Joseph 
Dame  Weeks  served  as  associate  editor  of 
the  Iron  Age  and  visited  Europe  as  special 
commissioner  of  Pennsylvania  to  investigate 
the  labor  question  in  1878.  Others  proved 
themselves  worthy  sons  of  their  alma  mater. 
Generations  of  Wesleyan  men  know  Pro- 
fessor Winchester  as  the  always  popular 
and  entertaining  head  of  the  department  of 
English  literature.  While  he  served  the  uni- 
versity as  librarian  for  sixteen  years,  from 
1869  to  1885,  he  was  elected  to  a  full  profes- 
sorship in  1873,  when  he  was  not  yet  twenty- 
seven  years  old ;  which  shows  that  this  is  not 
the  only  age  which  seeks  the  men  of  youth 
for  positions  of  large  responsibility.  Since 
1890  his  department  has  been  English  liter- 
ature alone,  in  which  he  holds  the  Olin  pro- 
fessorship, named  in  honor  of  the  late  Ste- 
phen Olin,  the  second  president  of  the  uni- 

1  Professor  Carhart  died  February  13,  1920. 

41 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

versity.  In  1880  he  studied  in  Leipzig  for 
a  year  and  he  has  spent  periods  of  sabbati- 
cal leave  in  travel  since.  In  1892  Dickinson 
College  made  him  a  doctor  of  humane  let- 
ters. For  more  than  twenty-five  years  he 
delivered  lectures  at  Wells  College,  in  New 
York  state,  and  Johns  Hopkins  has  been 
served  by  him  in  a  like  capacity  for  several 
years,  as  have  many  of  the  New  England 
colleges.  In  1904  he  served  on  the  commit- 
tee for  revision  of  The  Methodist  Hymnal. 
The  church  has  also  honored  him  by  electing 
him  lay  delegate  to  the  General  Conference 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  1904. 
It  is  an  open  secret  that  other  universities 
have  tried  to  inveigle  Professor  Winchester 
away  from  Wesleyan.  When  the  late  Pres- 
ident William  R.  Harper  was  gathering  a 
group  of  eminent  scholars  to  serve  as  the 
faculty  of  the  reorganized  University  of 
Chicago,  he  invited  Wesleyan's  scholarly 
and  popular  head  of  the  English  literature 
department  to  take  a  similar  position  in  that 
institution.  The  offer  was  declined,  for 
which  Professor  Winchester  has  had  the 
abiding  gratitude  of  all  friends  of  the  col- 
lege. Other  offers  were  given  less  public- 
42 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

ity,  but  were  met  with  the  same  decision  to 
remain  at  his  alma  mater. 

Professor  Winchester  has  not  written 
primarily  as  an  author  with  a  reading  public 
in  view.  He  has  seemed  to  prefer  to  keep 
the  best  that  he  has  for  his  classes  and  his 
public  lectures.  His  Five  Short  Courses  of 
Reading,  published  in  1891  and  revised  in 
1900,  has  met  with  wide  recognition.  Prin- 
ciples of  Literary  Criticism,  set  up  in  1899, 
has  been  reprinted  repeatedly.  Following 
the  Wesley  bicentennial  he  wrote  The  Life 
of  John  Wesley,  which  was  an  entertaining 
depiction  of  the  life  and  work  of  the  man  in 
Professor  Winchester's  characteristic  style. 
With  Professor  G.  L.  Kittredge  he  edited 
the  Athenceum  Press  Series  of  masterpieces 
of  English  literature.  A  Group  of  English 
Essayists  appeared  in  1910.  In  1873  he 
served  as  editor  of  the  Wesley  an  Alumni 
Record.  His  history  of  the  university  and 
many  intimate  papers  and  sketches  of  par- 
ticular interest  to  the  alumni  and  friends  of 
the  university  are  prized  beyond  measure 
by  those  who  possess  them. 

But  it  is  the  man  himself  who  has  lived 
his  way  into  the  affection  and  esteem  of  large 

43 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

numbers  of  Wesley  an  men.  Seldom  does 
the  undergraduate  stop  to  reckon  why  he 
likes  one  professor,  or  dislikes  another. 
There  is  some  subtle  instinct  that  pervades 
a  college  body,  that  weighs  the  members  of 
the  faculty  in  the  balance.  Some  measure 
up  to  the  rather  vague  and  unexpressed 
standard  which  the  college  man  demands, 
while  others  do  not.  Given  a  little  time  and 
a  fair  chance  and  the  undergraduates  will 
generally  discover  a  man,  be  he  hedged  about 
with  ever  so  many  peculiarities.  Professor 
Winchester  was  judged  at  this  bar  of  col- 
lege opinion  many  years  ago — and  met  all 
the  requirements.  Each  succeeding  group 
of  students  has  accepted  him  without  ques- 
tion. 

It  is  probably  because  he  understands 
men.  Ever  since  he  was  an  impressionable 
lad,  learning  to  size  up  a  situation  with  true 
Yankee  shrewdness,  he  has  been  noting  their 
whims,  reading  the  deep,  strong  motives  of 
the  heart,  and  seeing  what  qualities  of  mind 
and  spirit  lead  to  success.  We  find  him  re- 
marking in  his  paper  on  Thomas  De  Quin- 
cey  that  the  essayist  "had  an  almost  femi- 
nine nicety  of  observation  that  nothing 
44 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

escaped,  and  a  quick  eye  for  those  slight  pecu- 
liarities of  appearance  and  manner  in  which 
character  unconsciously  reveals  itself."  One 
who  was  not  so  well  versed  in  human  nature 
himself  would  not  have  noted  this  with  such 
care  for  detail.  This  practice  is  delightfully 
refreshing,  and  the  pleased  reader  finds  the 
personality  of  the  literary  personage  living 
and  breathing  in  his  very  presence.  Open 
at  random  to  almost  any  page  of  his  essays 
and  you  find  him  investing  his  subject  with 
an  interest  that  springs  from  his  art  of 
knowing  men.  Thus  we  find  him  writing  of 
De  Quincey:  "A  sort  of  Admirable  Crich- 
ton,  he  did  nothing  with  his  knowledge,  he 
reached  no  conclusions,  he  settled  no  ques- 
tions, marked  out  no  new  paths  for  human 
thought;  and  the  large  familiar  elements  of 
life  out  of  which  great  literature  is  made, 
man's  love  and  hope  and  desire,  still  less 
to  these  could  he  give  such  expression  as 
shall  thrill  or  inspire.  He  could  only  gos- 
sip; curious,  usually  interesting,  sometimes 
instructive,  it  was  still  gossip — gossip 
through  fourteen  stricken  volumes." 

The  writer  will  never  forget  the  enter- 
taining hours  in  the  classroom.   There  were 
45 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

no  dull  moments  in  his  classes.  With  quiet 
dignity  the  teacher  was  willing  to  speak 
much — and  the  men  were  willing  to  let  him. 
He  knew  so  much  about  life  and  men  and 
things,  and  he  could  tell  it  with  such  com- 
pelling interest,  that  every  man  listened. 
There  was  no  fault-finding,  implied  or 
stated,  in  his  presentation  of  the  facts.  They 
came  simply  pouring  out  in  low  tones,  al- 
most sad  at  times,  clothed  in  the  choicest 
language,  but  so  spoken  that  no  one  could 
fail  to  get  an  intimate  knowledge  of  what  he 
desired  to  present. 

Somehow,  some  of  us  were  quick  to  con- 
clude that  the  warm,  tender  spirit  of  the  poet 
Burns  had  won  the  place  of  warmest  affec- 
tion in  the  heart  of  our  professor.  He  never 
said  so,  to  be  sure,  but  one  had  but  to  listen 
to  his  lectures  on  the  Scottish  bard.  He  was 
always  going  out  of  his  way,  it  seemed,  with 
kindly  interest,  to  state  a  mitigating  circum- 
stance, or  to  suggest  an  interpretation  of  the 
poet's  actions  which  softened  the  harshness 
of  the  critics.  We  learned  to  love  Burns 
ourselves  under  such  sympathetic  tutelage. 

He  read  much  to  us.  We  listened,  en- 
tranced. Some  of  us  will  never  forget  that 
46 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

voice.  The  quiet,  low  melody,  the  sympathy 
that  welled  up  and  poured  itself  out,  always 
with  the  nicest  modulation,  and  never  in 
false  terms,  led  us,  somehow,  unthinkingly, 
to  conclude  that  here  was  a  man  who  under- 
stood us  all,  and  who  could  read  the  human 
heart  with  as  good  understanding  as  he  could 
the  printed  page.  And  that,  perhaps,  was 
why  we  liked  him. 

Like  all  the  best  judges  of  human  nature, 
Professor  Winchester  gives  high  place  to 
the  value  of  cheerfulness  and  genuine  laugh- 
ter. He  says  much  about  it  in  his  writings 
and  his  lectures.  Thus  we  find  him  speaking 
of  Charles  Lamb:  "His  laughter  was  not 
like  the  crackling  of  thorns  under  a  pot,  but 
genial,  kindly,  wise.  He  knew  how  by  a 
jest,  a  waggish  remark,  half  drollery  and 
half  sympathy,  to  break  up  the  crust  of  com- 
monplace that  gathers  over  our  thought,  to 
enliven  the  lead-colored  monotony  that 
makes  life  toilsome  and — what  is  worse — 
prosaic." 

Most  college  men  have  written  some  verse 
in  their  college  days,  which  they  rue  in  later 
life.  No  lines  of  his  appear  in  the  collection 
entitled  "Wesleyan  Verse,"  except  the 

47 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

chaste  words  of  introduction  to  the  volume, 
which  were  written  by  him  at  the  request  of 
the  editors.  In  The  Methodist  Hymnal 
only  one  hymn  is  credited  to  him: 

The  Lord  our  God  alone  is  strong; 

His  hands  build  not  for  one  brief  day; 
His  wondrous  works,  through  ages  long, 

His  wisdom  and  his  power  display. 

It  is  this  song  that  voices,  perhaps,  in  the 
best  way,  the  strong,  composite  faith  of  the 
man.  There  is  no  cant  in  his  acceptance  of 
God.  He  believes  because  he  sees  God  man- 
ifest all  about  him.  He  does  not  say  much 
about  his  belief.  Somehow,  you  know  it  is 
there  without  the  spoken  word. 

Professor  Winchester  has  probably  had 
more  Wesleyan  men  in  his  classes  than  any 
other  member  of  the  faculty,  now  or  in  the 
past.  His  elective  courses  have  been  very 
popular,  and  deservedly  so.  His  testimony, 
now  that  he  looks  back  upon  these  long  years 
of  success  as  a  teacher,  is  that  he  prizes  most 
the  personal  friendship  which  has  come  to 
him  through  his  intercourse  with  his  classes. 
Only  the  other  day  he  told  the  writer  that 
he  had  received  a  letter  from  Bishop  Her- 
48 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

bert  Welch,  out  in  Korea.  It  was  not  about 
business,  or  affairs  of  the  church,  but  just 
a  chatty  talk  about  the  old  days  at  Wes- 
leyan.  And  that  is  what  he  prizes. 

Middletown  has  been  Professor  Winches- 
ter's home  for  more  than  fifty  years  now. 
Indeed,  he  has  known  no  other  home,  save 
Wilbraham  and  the  hilly  region  near  Plym- 
outh for  a  few  years  in  his  early  boyhood. 
He  has  learned  to  love  the  college  town. 
His  home,  well  up  the  rise  from  the  city's 
main  thoroughfare,  looks  off  toward  the  hills 
upon  the  other  side  of  the  Connecticut  river. 
There,  old  Cobalt  mountain  lifts  its  blue  and 
hazy  crest,  and  gives  rest  of  body  and  spirit 
to  those  who  look  away  over  the  city's  house- 
tops to  its  somber  summit.  It  is  a  good  out- 
look, that  inspires  to  hope  and  faith  and  trust 
in  things  as  they  are.  Professor  Winches- 
ter is  held  in  esteem  by  the  townspeople,  and 
at  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
of  which  he  is  one  of  the  helpful  members. 
Middletown,  its  citizens,  its  church  mem- 
bers, as  well  as  the  college  community,  ap- 
preciate this  long-time  Wesleyan  professor. 


49 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

At  the  twilight  hour,  Wednesday  of  last 
week,1  Professor  Caleb  Thomas  Winches- 
ter, a  member  of  the  faculty  of  Wesleyan 
University,  Middletown,  Connecticut,  since 
1869,  passed  to  the  other  life.  Death  came 
as  a  result  of  a  cerebral  hemorrhage,  which 
occurred  about  three  months  since,  but  from 
which  he  had  been  slowly  rallying  until  two 
weeks  before  his  death,  when  there  came  a 
relapse,  and  he  began  gradually  to  fail.  He 
is  survived  by  his  wife  and  one  son,  Julian 
Caleb  Winchester;  a  sister,  Miss  L.  Fannie 
Winchester  of  Fair  Haven,  Massachusetts ; 
and  a  brother,  George  Fletcher  Winchester 
of  Paterson,  New  Jersey. 

The  funeral  was  held  at  the  Winchester 
home,  on  the  edge  of  the  campus,  Saturday 
afternoon.  Rev.  William  D.  Beach,  D.D., 
the  retiring  pastor  of  the  First  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  Middletown,  of  which 
the  deceased  had  been  a  member  since  his 
undergraduate  days,  was  the  officiating 
clergyman.  Dr.  Beach  was  assisted  by 
President  William  Arnold  Shanklin  of  the 
University,  while  Professor  William  North 

1  The  following  paragraphs,  also  written  by  Mr.  Ryan,  ap- 
peared in  Zion's  Herald,  March  31,  1920. 

50 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ACCOUNTS 

Rice,  who  was  beginning  his  work  on  the 
Wesleyan  faculty  when  Professor  Winches- 
ter came  there  as  a  student  and  who  is  now 
professor  emeritus,  conducted  the  committal 
service  at  the  cemetery.  A  quartet  com- 
posed of  glee  club  men  from  the  University 
sang.  The  honorary  bearers  were  Profes- 
sor George  M.  Dutcher,  vice-president  of 
the  University;  Professor  Frank  W.  Nicol- 
son,  the  University  dean;  and  Professors 
Morris  B.  Crawford,  Andrew  C.  Arm- 
strong, William  E.  Mead,  Karl  P.  Har- 
rington, William  J.  James,  and  Oscar 
Kuhns,  senior  members  of  the  faculty  who, 
in  nearly  every  instance,  have  been  associ- 
ated with  Professor  Winchester  on  the  Wes- 
leyan faculty  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  The  active  bearers  were  from  the 
student  body  of  the  Wesleyan  chapter  of 
the  Psi  Upsilon  fraternity,  of  which  Pro- 
fessor Winchester  was  a  member.  The  bur- 
ial was  in  the  family  lot  in  Indian  Hill  cem- 
etery in  Middletown. 

Professor  Winchester  had  asked  the  Wes- 
leyan trustees  to  relieve  him  of  his  work 
as  head  of  the  department  of  English  liter- 
ature at  their  meeting  last  June.    He  was 
51 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

then  completing  half  a  century  of  faculty 
service  at  this  oldest  Methodist  Episcopal 
collegiate  institution  in  America.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  board  asked  him  to  continue  in 
office  for  the  present,  possibly  for  not  longer 
than  another  year,  and  he  had  cheerfully  ac- 
quiesced. It  was  not  long  after  the  open- 
ing of  college  last  fall  that  he  broke  under 
the  strain.  It  was  a  great  shock  to  his 
friends,  who  had  not  realized  that  the  stress 
was  so  great. 

The  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
Middletown,  of  which  he  was  a  long-time 
member,  has  lost  a  staunch  supporter  in  his 
going.  The  city  where  he  had  made  his 
home  for  more  than  half  a  century  mourns 
also  one  of  its  best  type  of  citizens.  All  over 
the  country,  wherever  Wesleyan  is  known 
and  loved,  in  fact,  there  will  be  a  genuine 
sense  of  loss  in  the  passing  of  this  honored 
professor,  for  it  was  the  sincere  wish  of  many 
that  he  might  long  be  spared  to  the  univer- 
sity community  where  he  had  served  usefully 
and  conspicuously  for  these  fifty  years. 


52 


DINNER 

IN  HONOR  OF 
PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

JUNE  20,  1919 


Wesleyan  Univeraity 
Victory  Commencement 


Sinner  in  Honor 

of 
JJrofetftfor  Caleb  (EJjoma*  Wintt)t$ttt, 


Fayerweatter  Gymnasium 
June  Twentieth,  Nineteen  Nineteen 


55 


Program 


President  William  Arnold  Shanklin,  L.  H.  D.,  LL.  D. 


Wilbur  Lucius  Cross,  Ph.  D. 

Dean  of  the  Graduate  ScKool,  Yale  University 


Lincoln  Robinson  Gibbs,  M.  A. 

Professor  of  English  Literature,  University  of  Pittsburgh 


William  Edward  Mead,  PL.  D. 


William  North  Rice,  Ph.  D.,  LL.  D. 


Caleb  Thomas  Winchester,  L.  H.  D. 


57 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS 

PRESIDENT  SHANKLIN 

THOUGH  my  province  is  simply  to  intro- 
duce the  speakers  of  the  evening,  I  cannot 
refrain  from  expressing  my  own  personal 
appreciation  of  Professor  Winchester  and 
of  his  constant,  sympathetic  loyalty  and  up- 
holding. Throughout  these  ten  years  since 
I  came  to  Wesleyan  he  has  been  an  ideal  col- 
league, never  flinching  from  a  frank  expres- 
sion of  his  own  views,  yet  never  failing  in 
loyalty  to  the  president  of  the  college.  I 
owe  him  an  incalculable  debt.  To  share  his 
friendship  has  stirred  afresh  my  best  re- 
solves for  high  living  and  noble  thinking. 
With  every  Wesleyan  man  I  thank  God  for 
this  teacher  who  has  let  loose  such  intellec- 
tual and  moral  forces  on  this  hill,  and  who 
has  for  half  a  century  here  spent  himself  in 
the  moulding  and  mastery  of  young  men. 

I  was  struck  forcibly,  the  other  day,  by 

a  word  of  the  late  John  Muir:  "Longest  is 

the  life  that  contains  the  largest  amount  of 

time-effacing  enjoyment  and  of  work  that 

59 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

is  steady  delight."  What  a  lesson  Profes- 
sor Winchester  has,  through  the  years,  daily 
taught  in  his  grasping  the  little  section  of 
existence  that  the  philosophers  have  such 
difficulty  in  defining,  and  living  it  to  the  best 
of  his  ability  for  steady  delight,  "an  image  of 
high  principle  and  feeling." 

As  we  think  of  the  various  and  combined 
influences  that  make  Wesleyan  what  it  is, 
it  seems  to  me  that  Professor  Winchester 
is  the  personification  of  the  best  for  which 
Wesleyan  is  known  among  her  friends.  In 
meeting  alumni  throughout  the  entire  coun- 
try, I  hear  men  express  their  gratitude  for 
his  benign  and  stimulating  influence  upon 
them  while  in  college.  And  each  of  this 
great  company  of  Wesleyan  men  and  women 
greets  you,  sir;  looks  you  frankly  in  the  face, 
and  says  to  you  in  tones  and  smiles,  if  not 
in  words:  I  love  you  because  you  have  in- 
spired in  me  a  desire  to  be  my  best,  and  to 
make  my  life  more  and  more  like  your  own, 
one  in  which  faith  and  work  are  bells  of  full 
accord. 

We  want  you  to  know  that  Wesleyan  men 
love  you  for  your  charm  of  simple  truthful- 
ness, of  frank  manliness,  of  perfect  sympa- 

60 


DINNER 

thy  for  all  forms  of  healthy  human  action, 
independently  of  the  position  which  you  have 
held  for  so  many  years,  and  which  has  had 
its  real  being  in  your  personality  itself. 

We  know  how  you  love  Wesleyan,  how 
you  have  baptized  it  with  your  prayers  and 
deeds,  how  filled  you  have  been  with  devices 
for  its  welfare,  how  jealous  of  its  fair  name, 
how  willing  to  spend  and  be  spent  in  its  be- 
half. I  believe  that  you  could  say,  sir,  to 
the  innermost  and  to  the  uttermost:  "If  I 
forget  thee,  O  Wesleyan,  let  my  right  hand 
forget  her  cunning  and  let  my  tongue  cleave 
to  the  roof  of  my  mouth." 

And  as  we  this  evening  call  to  mind  your 
earnestness  and  simplicity  of  nature,  your 
force  of  character,  your  temper  of  greatness 
— all  shot  through  with  your  life-devotion 
to  this  college — we  pray  God  that  something 
of  your  spirit  may  ever  abide  in  Wesleyan 
University. 


61 


ADDRESS 

IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  DEPARTMENTS  OF  ENGLISH 

IN  NEW  ENGLAND  COLLEGES  AND 
UNIVERSITIES 

PROFESSOR  CROSS 

WE  all  account  it  an  honor  to  be  of  this 
companye,  as  Dan  Chaucer  would  say  were 
he  with  us,  met  "to  doon  oure  observaunce" 
to  this  June  day  when  Professor  Winches- 
ter completeth  his  fifty  years  of  service  in 
the  two  arts  of  teaching  and  writing.  That 
this  work  has  been  done  at  Wesleyan  has 
brought  great  distinction  to  the  University. 
Many  of  you  are  Professor  Winchester's 
former  students,  while  I  have  never  had  the 
privilege  of  attending  his  classes.  I  am  just 
one  of  his  many  friends.  Still,  I  know  what 
he  has  given  you  at  Wesleyan,  for  I  have 
read  his  books,  which,  if  I  am  not  mistaken, 
have  been  largely  wrought  out  of  the  very 
substance  of  his  lectures.  And  one  of  those 
lectures  I  once  heard.  It  was  far  back  in 
the  abysm  of  time,  perhaps  as  many  as 
thirty-five  years  ago,  when  I  was  an  under- 
62 


DINNER 

graduate  at  Yale.  Professor  Winchester 
gave  an  address  in  New  Haven,  before  the 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  I  think,  on  Lud- 
low  Castle,  where  Milton's  Comus,  with 
music  by  Henry  Lawes,  was  first  performed 
at  a  splendid  entertainment  given  by  the 
Earl  of  Bridgewater,  Lord  President  of 
Wales.  I  do  not  remember,  at  this  distance 
of  time,  the  details  of  that  address.  All  I 
remember  is  that  it  was  rich  in  description 
and  in  literary  and  historical  incident,  and 
that  it  thrilled  me. 

It  was  ten  years  after  this  address  that 
Professor  Winchester  and  I  first  met 
in  conversation.  We  were  on  a  transatlan- 
tic steamer,  bound  westward  from  Glasgow 
to  New  York.  You  all  know  how  easy  it  is 
to  get  acquainted  on  shipboard.  Ten  days 
there  will  do  the  business  of  ten  years  on 
land,  where  we  all  try  to  conceal  what  we 
are  by  reserves  and  conventions.  There 
were  also  several  special  reasons  why  Pro- 
fessor Winchester  and  I  were  thrown 
much  together  on  that  voyage.  As  we  were 
both  very  poor  men  then,  we  were  traveling 
on  a  small  boat  which  undertook  to  convey 
first-class  passengers  across  the  Atlantic 
63 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

for  $40  a  head.  For  myself,  I  had  not  con- 
sidered what  a  cheap  west-bound  passage 
meant,  especially  if  late  in  the  season,  as 
was  ours.  That  steamer  was  filled  with  the 
riff-raff  of  American  tourists,  who  had  spent 
all  their  money  in  Europe,  except  what  they 
had  reserved  for  drink  and  play  on  the  voy- 
age home.  And  to  say  the  truth,  they  had 
reserved  a  sufficient  amount  for  these  pur- 
poses. Perhaps  the  two  most  respectable 
persons  on  board,  Professor  Winchester  and 
I  naturally  sought  each  other's  company. 
Again,  we  happened  to  have  rooms  near 
together,  which  was  conducive  to  night  talk. 
We  also  ran  into  a  dreadful  storm  while 
in  mid-ocean.  We  were  all  ordered  below, 
the  engines  would  not  work,  the  boats,  it 
was  rumored,  were  being  lowered,  and 
the  ship  rolled  about  helplessly — of  this 
we  were  certain — in  a  tumult  of  waters.  I 
can  still  hear  that  shout  of  Professor  Win- 
chester's on  a  dark  midnight  when  the  storm 
was  at  its  height,  as  he  called  across  to  me  to 
get  up  and  dress,  so  as  to  be  ready  for  the 
boats.  We  sat  and  talked  for  a  while  amid 
the  music  of  the  storm  and  the  crash  of 
crockery,  and  then  we  turned  in  again,  hav- 


DINNER 

ing  decided  to  meet  coolly,  though  not  gaily, 
our  fate.  At  length  the  hurricane  subsided, 
and  we  escaped  a  wet  grave  with  that  mis- 
erable crowd. 

The  story  of  what  Professor  Winchester 
accomplished  for  English  studies  before  and 
after  this  abortive  disaster,  I  cannot  relate 
here.  I  can  only  throw  upon  it  a  sidelight 
or  two.  Are  we  aware,  I  wonder,  that  this 
half-century  of  Professor  Winchester's  ca- 
reer covers  nearly  the  entire  period  of  Eng- 
lish studies,  apart  from  philology  and  com- 
position, in  American  schools  and  colleges? 
He  entered  upon  his  work  somewhat  later 
than  Child  of  Harvard,  along  with  Louns- 
bury  and  Beers  of  Yale.  These  are  the  four 
pioneers  who  blazed  the  trail.  Before  their 
time  English  literature  as  literature  was 
rarely  in  the  curriculum  of  school  or  college. 
A  graduate  of  Yale  in  the  class  of  1859  once 
remarked  to  me  that  during  his  four  years 
in  college  he  never  heard  an  instructor  men- 
tion the  name  of  Tennyson  or  Browning  or 
Shakespeare  or  Milton,  and  he  was  listen- 
ing for  those  names.  English  literature,  so' 
far  as  it  had  crept  into  educ^tiBiM^  pro- 

r         •*• 

grams,  had  come  mainly  through 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

which  gave  brief  biographies  of  a  multitude 
of  authors  followed  by  descriptions,  some- 
times in  smaller  type,  of  their  principal 
works.  Instances  seem  to  be  rare  where 
students  were  asked  to  read  anything  that 
an  author  had  actually  written — certainly 
anything  more  than  an  extract  or  a  speci- 
men. I  need  not  tell  you  that  condensed 
lives  of  literary  men  and  lists  of  their  books 
with  formal  comment  thereon  by  mediocre 
intelligences  are  neither  very  profitable  nor 
very  entertaining.  Not  only  were  these 
books  read,  but  students — especially  girls  in 
their  "finishing  schools" — were  required  to 
commit  much  of  them  to  memory,  for  it  was 
a  period  when  great  stress  was  placed  upon 
training  the  juvenile  mind  to  exact  repro- 
duction. Only  the  other  evening  a  student 
of  those  days,  somewhat  more  independent 
than  the  rest,  was  telling  me  that  he  once 
ventured  to  give  to  his  professor  the  sub- 
stance of  a  paragraph  rather  than  the  para- 
graph itself.  His  professor,  who  was  the 
author  of  the  paragraph,  listened  for  a  min- 
ute or  two,  and  then  told  the  young  man 
to  sit  down,  adding,  "The  words  of  the  book 
were  chosen  with  the  very  greatest  care,  and 


DINNER 

I  advise  you  not  to  try  to  improve  upon 
them." 

It  may  be  that  this  professor's  paragraph 
would  stand  any  test  that  might  be  brought 
to  bear  upon  it,  but  the  case  was  quite  dif- 
ferent with  some  text-books  then  in  use,  of 
which  the  one  then  regarded  as  the  best  for 
students  in  English  was  called  A  Complete 
Manual  of  English  Literature,  by  Thomas 
B.  Shaw,  M.A.,  a  graduate  of  Cambridge 
University.  The  book  is  nothing  but  a  com- 
pilation; it  contains  no  firsthand  apprecia- 
tion of  English  authors;  it  gives  merely  a 
confused  reflection  of  estimates  by  others; 
examine  it  where  you  will  and  you  can  find 
no  positive  evidence  that  Shaw  had  ever 
read  any  of  the  books  he  mentioned,  but  you 
will  find  in  his  inaccuracies  positive  evidence 
that  he  had  never  read  the  longer  and  more 
important  ones.  The  inference  of  Professor 
Lounsbury  is  justified  that  Shaw  had  never 
read  throughout  any  of  the  numerous  novels, 
plays,  essays,  and  poems  that  he  described. 
This  was  the  book  that  girls  took  to  their 
rooms,  pored  over,  and  committed  to  mem- 
ory, thinking  that  they  were  studying  our 
great  and  glorious  literature. 

67 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

Such  was  the  situation  when  the  real  pio- 
neers appeared  in  the  wilderness.  They  took 
their  students  directly  to  the  great  works  of 
the  great  writers — to  Chaucer  and  Spenser 
and  Shakespeare  and  Milton,  and  eventu- 
ally, forward  into  the  nineteenth  century,  to 
Tennyson  and  Browning.  Within  a  decade 
or  two  their  method  had  permeated  our 
whole  educational  system.  There  was  doubt- 
less some  stumbling  at  the  outset,  and  there 
has  certainly  been  some  stumbling  since  by 
the  successors  of  the  pioneers.  It  has  always 
been  a  question  what  to  do  with  an  author 
like  Shakespeare  when  we  have  got  hold  of 
him.  Some  have  thought  that  the  thing 
should  be  grammar  under  the  name  of  phi- 
lology. In  the  'seventies  there  was  running 
in  a  college  that  shall  be  nameless  here  a 
course  in  Shakespeare,  in  which  the  stu- 
dents read  Hamlet  and  parsed  all  the  most 
obscure  sentences  in  that  tragedy.  Some 
years  ago  I  asked  a  man  who  had  taken  that 
course  whether  he  remembered  any  specific 
questions  that  were  put  to  him.  "Yes,"  he 
said,  "the  professor  was  always  talking 
about  the  elusive  relative  pronoun  in  Shake- 
speare, meaning  thereby  as."  It  is  true  that 
68 


DINNER 

one  may  find  elusive  relatives,  as  well  as 
elusive  graces,  in  Shakespeare.  Sir  Hugh 
Evans  says  to  the  fairies  in  Merry  Wives: 

But  those  as  sleep  and  think  not  on  their  sins, 
Pinch  them.  .  .  . 

The  course  contained  nothing  remotely  lit- 
erary except  a  debate  at  the  end  on  the  ques- 
tion whether  Hamlet  was  mad,  the  conclu- 
sion being  that  Hamlet  must  have  been  out 
of  his  head,  for  had  he  been  a  normal  young 
man  he  would  not  have  been  so  rough  with 
Ophelia. 

The  grammarians  have  had  companions 
in  the  etymologists,  the  lineal  descendants  of 
Pope's  "word-catchers,"  who  under  the  in- 
fluence of  Archbishop  Trench  brought  in 
the  picturesque  history  of  words,  such  as 
roue,  now  used  to  designate  a  man  of  "prof- 
ligate character,"  but  anciently  and  more 
properly  meaning  a  man  "wheeled,  or  broken 
on  the  wheel"  for  his  crimes.  To  my  shame 
I  once  consented  to  conduct  a  class  of  boys 
and  girls  through  one  of  these  books.  There 
were  also  the  antiquarians,  who  pounced 
upon  Shakespeare  and  Milton  for  biblical, 
classical,  and  historical  allusions,  explain- 
69 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

ing  away,  as  a  boy  once  put  it,  every  "illu- 
sion" in  the  great  Puritan  poet.  And  there 
are  the  analytic  gentlemen,  not  quite  so  com- 
mon now  as  formerly,  who  set  their  students 
to  counting  the  words  in  each  sentence  of  an 
author  in  order  to  strike  his  average  and 
compare  his  average  with  the  average  of 
somebody  else. 

Another  group  of  scholars,  calling  them- 
selves students  in  comparative  literature, 
still  roam  about  in  "the  happy  hunting- 
ground"  of  parallel  passages.  When  they 
light  upon  a  passage  like 

Heard   melodies   are   sweet,   but   those   unheard 
Are  sweeter.  .  .  . 

they  wonder  where  the  deuce  Keats  got  that. 
The  rhetoricians  came  in,  too,  with  their  for- 
mal treatises,  made  over  from  Whately ;  and 
young  men  learned  to  their  disappointment 
that  they  lost  rather  than  gained  facility  in 
writing  by  reading  A.  S.  Hill  on  purity, 
clearness,  force,  and  ease.  It  was  then  that 
the  late  Professor  Lounsbury  made  the  hu- 
morous remark:  "Just  as  a  man  who  hasn't 
enough  money  to  found  a  college  founds  a 
university,  so  a  man  who  hasn't  brains 
70 


DINNER 

enough  to  write  a  grammar  writes  a  rhet- 


oric." 


I  have  been  preparing,  you  observe,  a  foil 
like  the  tin  and  quicksilver  on  the  back  of  a 
looking-glass,  so  that  one  may  see  Profes- 
sor Winchester  properly  reflected  as  he  is. 
I  would  not  say  a  word  which  might  be  con- 
strued as  in  the  least  disrespectful  of  gram- 
mar, rhetoric,  etymology,  the  running  down 
of  allusions,  or  the  detection  of  an  author's 
thefts  under  the  name  of  sources.  In  and 
of  themselves  they  are  all  legitimate  enough, 
but  their  pursuit  has  very  little  if  anything 
to  do  with  literature;  and  when  they  are 
more  than  casually  introduced  into  literary 
study,  they  call  attention  from  the  really 
essential  things;  they  switch  the  mind  to  a 
sidetrack  which  it  is  hard  to  leave.  Now, 
Professor  Winchester  in  none  of  his  books 
ever  admits  these  or  other  distractions.  He 
concentrates  attention  upon  the  poet  or  es- 
sayist in  hand  (he  best  likes  poets  and  essay- 
ists), and  he  never  lets  go  of  him  and  his 
work  until  the  light  and  fervor  of  an  appre- 
ciative intelligence  has  been  turned  on  from 
many  sides.  Some  of  the  questions  he  asks 
are:  what  does  the  man  say  and  what  is  it 
71 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

worth;  what  emotions  does  he  awaken  and 
are  they  true  or  false ;  and  what  of  the  man's 
art  in  its  larger  reaches?  This  is  the  general 
trend  of  his  rare  powers  of  literary  interpre- 
tation. For  historical  background  per  se 
whereby  an  author  may  be  displayed  as  the 
product  of  his  age  or  the  working  out  of 
social  forces  he  cares  little;  and  yet  with  a 
due  sense  of  proportion  he  always  provides 
a  sufficient  background  for  understanding, 
delight,  and  just  appreciation.  Nor  does 
Professor  Winchester  run  into  irrelevant 
biographical  details.  He  has  written  one 
admirable  biography,  and  he  calls  it  by  its 
right  name.  But  when  he  brings  biography 
into  a  literary  study,  it  does  not  stand  alone, 
an  impertinent  thing;  there  is  always  an  in- 
terplay between  the  incidents  of  an  author's 
life  and  his  personality  as  seen  in  his  works. 
At  length  emerges  a  charming  portrait  like 
that  of  Charles  Lamb.  Herein  lies  Pro- 
fessor Winchester's  distinction.  Through 
his  long  career  he  has  pursued  none  of  those 
wandering  fires  which  really  neither  warm 
nor  illumine,  but  merely  lead  into  phosphor- 
escent quagmires.  His  endeavor  has  been  to 
awaken  in  others  his  own  great  love  of  that 
72 


DINNER 

English  literature  which  is  the  glory  of  the 
modern  world. 

And  what  has  been  the  secret  of  his  suc- 
cess? Professor  Winchester  is  not  one  of 
those  popular  lecturers  who  can  build  an 
address  on  the  foundation  of  a  few  hours' 
reading.  With  certain  periods  of  our  liter- 
ature his  mind  is  thoroughly  saturated,  and 
he  confines  himself  to  those  periods.  To 
him  the  primal  element  in  literature  is  emo- 
tion, and  he  rather  dislikes  those  books  where 
many  facts  intrude  to  break  up  the  emotion. 
Always  the  emotional  charm  of  a  favorite 
author  becomes  a  part  of  his  own  personal- 
ity ;  and  then  by  his  zest  and  vibrant  style  he 
conveys  it  all  to  his  audience  or  readers. 
Those  of  you  who  have  read  his  books  must 
remember  his  comment  on  the  wonderful 
sonnet  by  Shakespeare,  beginning, 

That  time  of  year  thou  mayst  in  me  behold, 
When  yellow  leaves,  or  none,  or  few  do  hang 

Upon  those  boughs  which  shake  against  the  cold, 
Bare  ruin'd  choirs  where  late  the  sweet  birds 
sang. 

Or  perhaps  you  would  rather  have  me  recall, 

out  of  local  pride,  a  scene  transfused  with 

73 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

emotion,  which  Professor  Winchester  de- 
scribes from  his  study  window  here  in  Mid- 
dletown  on  a  day  of  early  autumn,  wherein 
he  first  observes  in  the  middle  distance  a 
tree  in  the  "gorgeous  hues  of  copper  and 
gold"  and  then  uplifts  his  eyes  over  "the 
whole  broad-lying  landscape" — "the  long, 
high  horizon  line,  rising  just  in  front  of  me 
into  the  broadly  rounded  solidity  of  a  moun- 
tain; the  russet-clad  slopes  of  the  eastern 
hills  that  border  a  river;  the  broad  expanse 
of  the  river,  lying  like  a  quiet  lake,  bluer 
by  far  than  the  sky  overhead ;  sloping  fields, 
dotted  here  and  there  with  farmhouses ;  and 
below  and  in  front  the  roofs  of  the  city 
among  the  fast  thinning  foliage  of  the  trees." 
And  on  this  beautiful  prospect  he  lets  his 
imagination  dwell  until  the  mountain  beyond 
the  Connecticut  fades  into  the  mountain  he 
once  saw  from  Wordsworth's  house  and  on 
into  the  Mount  Soracte  of  which  his  beloved 
Horace  sang. 

A  man  who  writes  like  this  is  not  only  an 
inspiring  guide  to  the  greater  poets  and  es- 
sayists; he  is  himself  a  maker  of  literature. 


ADDRESS 

IN     BEHALF     OF     PROFESSOR     WINCHESTER'S 
PUPILS 

PROFESSOR  GIBBS,  '92 

THE  present  occasion  vindicates  the  bu- 
colic adage  that  soon  or  late  all  chickens 
come  home  to  roost.  The  particular  fowl 
that  seeks  the  domestic  perch  this  evening 
is  a  highly  respectable  bird,  with  a  sugges- 
tion of  aristocratic  pedigree;  but  in  view  of 
the  special  object  of  this  gathering,  its  re- 
turn causes  some  embarrassment.  I  mean 
that  here  at  Wesleyan  we  are  taught  by  pre- 
cept and  example  that  one  of  the  capital 
secrets  of  power  in  expression  is  reserve, 
and  that  this  principle  is  especially  perti- 
nent to  the  expression  of  personal  affection, 
loyalty,  and  devotion.  This  is  an  instruc- 
tion that  returns  to-night  to  plague,  per- 
haps not  the  inventor,  but  certainly  those 
of  his  pupils  who  attempt  to  put  in  words 
their  gratitude  and  admiration.  The  resort 
of  the  bashful  lover  is  to  talk  about  the 
weather,  trusting  that  by  some  magic  of 
75 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

suggestion  he  may  impart  the  real  state  of 
his  soul;  and  if  his  audience  is  a  sympathetic 
one,  this  indirect  way  of  speaking  is  as  elo- 
quent and  persuasive  as  any  other.  Talk- 
ing as  the  representative  of  many  hundreds 
of  Professor  Winchester's  pupils,  I  have  as 
principal  object  the  expression  of  the  live- 
liest gratitude  and  the  most  genuine  admira- 
tion. But  I  cannot  speak  directly  to  this 
point.  I  must  take  a  leaf  from  the  bashful 
lover's  book,  and  deal  directly  only  with 
some  almost  impersonal  and  academic  phases 
of  the  teaching  of  literature  in  this  Univer- 
sity ;  and  I  must  ask  you  to  listen  for  a  word 
that  is  above  and  beneath  the  words  I  may 
utter,  a  connotation,  an  overtone,  that  may 
speak  of  something  in  Professor  Winches- 
ter's instruction  and  influence  quite  too  inti- 
mately blended  with  the  intellectual  and 
moral  life  of  us  sons  of  Wesleyan  to  be  iso- 
lated, phrased,  or  even  fully  recognized. 

A  saying  of  the  critic  Taine  may  serve  as 
a  touchstone  for  disclosing  the  nature  of  this 
influence  as  related  to  the  needs  of  stu- 
dents whom  Professor  Winchester  serves. 
"Sooner  or  later,"  said  Taine,  "every  intel- 
lectual worker  must  make  his  peace  with 
76 


DINNER 

science."  For  more  than  thirty  years  the 
besetting  temptation  of  teachers  in  non-sci- 
entific fields  has  been  to  make  a  peace  of 
total  surrender.  A  teacher  of  English  may 
make  this  surrender  in  several  ways:  he  may 
confine  his  attention  to  the  mechanism  of 
expression,  to  the  natural-history  of  lan- 
guage, or  to  the  measurable  political  and 
social  forces  that  influence  the  history  of  lit- 
erature. He  may  even  yield  to  the  convic- 
tion that  literature  itself  is  only  a  branch 
or  an  adjunct  of  science.  Now,  though  no 
sane  person  denies  the  benefits  that  both  lit- 
erature and  the  teaching  of  literature  have 
gained  from  the  influence  of  science,  no  one 
who  understands  the  educational  role  of  lit- 
erature desires  that  it  be  taught  as  a  science. 
To  be  utterly  scientific  is  to  deal  exclusively 
with  ideas  and  objects  that  are  exactly  meas- 
urable. Literature  deals  with  matters  too 
closely  akin  to  the  human  spirit  itself  to  be 
even  approximately  measurable.  To  at- 
tempt to  quantify  it  is  to  falsify  it,  or  at  best 
to  omit  the  element  that  constitutes  its 
unique  life.  The  attempt  to  apply  a  scien- 
tific method  to  an  inappropriate  subject 
matter  defeats  itself  and  becomes  unscien- 

77 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

tific.  In  the  meantime  the  educational  val- 
ues of  literature  have  been  sacrificed.  In 
the  face  of  the  large  claims  of  science  to  sat- 
isfy every  spiritual  need,  to  provide  a  scien- 
tific morality,  a  scientific  art,  and  a  scientific 
religion,  the  department  of  literature  at 
Wesleyan  has  had  the  courage  to  be  in  suffi- 
cient measure  non-scientific,  to  respect  the 
peculiar  character  of  its  subject,  never  to 
confuse  between  ends  and  means  in  instruc- 
tion and  scholarship,  and  to  furnish  in  the 
person  of  its  head  a  conspicuous  example  of 
the  humanizing  results  of  literary  culture. 

One  is  aware  that  the  scientific  danger  has 
its  counterpart.  Sentimentalism  is  more 
odious  than  pedantry.  Occasionally  even  a 
writer  of  the  first  rank  becomes  a  victim  of 
this  infatuation.  Keats  lamented  the  fact 
that  Newton,  by  demonstrating  the  laws  of 
the  refraction  of  light,  had  robbed  the  rain- 
bow of  its  beauty  and  enrolled  it  in  the  dull 
catalogue  of  common  things.  The  correc- 
tives of  sentimentality  are  a  respect  for 
facts  and  a  sense  of  humor.  Students  of  the 
imaginative  arts  are  grateful  to  the  scientific 
spirit  for  some  measure  of  the  former, 
though  they  are  not  wholly  dependent  on 
78 


DINNER 

the  example  of  the  professional  scientist  for 
it.  The  sense  of  humor  they  find  growing 
in  considerable  abundance  on  their  own  es- 
tate. Here  at  Wesley  an  we  are  taught  to 
prize  chiefly,  not  the  authors  who  speak  from 
romantic  distances  or  transcendental  heights, 
but  those  who  talk,  like  good  Methodists, 
from  experience.  We  turn  the  pages  of 
Shelley,  but  we  lay  to  heart  the  wisdom  of 
Shakespeare,  Burns,  Wordsworth,  and 
Browning.  Our  sophomoric  raptures  and 
giddy  flights  into  the  intense  inane  are 
checked  by  demands  for  homely  instances. 
We  are  made  to  recognize  the  wise  laughter 
of  the  mind  that  Meredith  talks  about.  If 
any  of  us  lack  the  due  measure  of  intellec- 
tual vigor  and  realism,  we  cannot  ascribe 
the  defect  to  our  preceptor  in  literature.  He 
leads  us  to  discern  in  poetry  a  subtle  logic; 
he  causes  us  to  value  most  the  poetry  that 
has  assimilated  a  heavy  burden  of  tragic, 
grim,  and  even  sordid  facts,  and  has  become 
wise  as  well  as  brilliant,  exquisite,  or  gay. 

Is  it  possible  to  define  positively  the  ideal 

that  controls  the  teaching  of  literature  in 

this  college?    The  nearest  approach  to  such 

a  definition  was  made  by  Professor  Win- 

79 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

Chester  in  reply  to  a  student's  question  put 
to  him  by  one  of  my  classmates.  The  ques- 
tion was  one  of  those  vague  inquiries  that 
inadvertently  reveal  the  complacent  inno- 
cent egotism  of  youth — whether  the  motive 
for  reading  great  masters  of  prose  should 
not  be  the  improvement  of  the  student's  own 
style.  As  if  Swift,  Carlyle,  Thackeray,  and 
the  rest  were  primarily  models  of  English 
composition  for  young  collegians  with  a  bur- 
den— some  message  to  deliver  to  the  ages! 
The  reply  was  patient.  It  declared  the  ob- 
ject of  reading  to  be  a  sympathetic  under- 
standing, not  merely  of  the  ideas  of  the  au- 
thor, but  of  his  total  spirit  in  its  unity  and 
life.  In  such  wise,  according  to  our  capac- 
ity, are  we  taught  to  read  at  Wesleyan.  The 
unit  of  study  is  not  the  book,  the  literary 
form,  the  linguistic  medium,  nor  even  the 
period  or  the  cultural  trend,  but  the  mind  of 
the  author,  the  man.  Literary  style  is 
treated  as  the  means  of  transmitting  per- 
sonality; the  task  of  the  teacher  is  to  enable 
us  raw  students  to  enter  the  society  of  the 
intellectually  great  in  the  confidence  that 
such  association,  and  only  such  association, 
can  kindle  and  sustain  the  life  of  the  mind. 

80 


DINNER 

This  service  is  one  of  self-effacement;  but 
it  is  always  one  of  the  highest  educational 
achievements  and  is  especially  necessary  in 
an  era  in  which  science  more  and  more  calls 
the  tune  in  educational  thought  and  prac- 
tice. Impersonal  truth  is  not  "truth  carried 
alive  into  the  heart  by  passion" ;  impersonal 
truth  has  little  power  to  "set  the  hearts  of 
youth  on  flame."  The  proper  study  of  man- 
kind is  still  man — and  not  solely  as  human- 
ity is  sketched  out  in  descriptive  formulas, 
but  also  as  it  is  represented  by  the  great  ar- 
tists and  humanists  of  the  race.  The  study 
of  literature  at  Wesleyan  is  the  process  of 
becoming  acquainted  with  those  exemplars 
of  humanity.  Our  gratitude  is  beyond  ex- 
pression or  measure,  the  more  so  as  we  are 
led  to  recognize  the  delicacy  of  the  task  and 
the  poise,  skill,  and  discernment  necessary 
for  a  teacher  of  humane  learning  amid  the 
confusing  educational  theories  of  our  time. 


81 


ADDRESS 

AS     COLLEAGUE     IN     THE     DEPARTMENT     OF 
ENGLISH 

PROFESSOR  MEAD,  '81 

I  COUNT  it  a  privilege  and  an  honor  to 
have  the  opportunity  of  expressing  publicly 
the  obligation  I  owe  to  one  who,  for  many 
years,  has  been  my  closest  colleague  and 
friend;  and  yet  I  feel  some  of  the  embar- 
rassment that  the  hero  of  Charles  Dudley 
Warner's  "Being  a  Boy"  felt  at  his  first  eve- 
ning party.  Never  before  had  John  found 
any  difficulty  in  talking  to  Cynthia,  his  red- 
headed sweetheart,  but  now  he  stood  tongue- 
tied  and  simply  could  not  think  of  anything 
good  enough  to  say  at  the  party.  But,  after 
all,  my  difficulty  is  not  exactly  the  same  as 
his.  I  feel  rather  the  impossibility  of  pack- 
ing into  a  few  words  the  thousand  things  I 
have  felt  these  many  years,  and  have  not 
said  because  there  has  been  no  suitable  op- 
portunity. But  if  all  were  to  be  taken  out 
of  my  life  that  directly  or  indirectly  I  owe 
to  my  teacher  and  colleague,  the  record 
82 


DINNER 

would  be  indeed  strangely  different,  and  I 
should  not  be  here  to-night. 

There  have  been  two  or  three  great  turn- 
ing points  in  my  life,  and  one  of  them  came 
when,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  I  entered  Wes- 
leyan  University  and  passed  under  the  spell 
of  Professor  Winchester.  At  that  time,  he 
was  the  youngest  professor  in  the  faculty, 
and  he  had  a  youthfulness  of  spirit  joined  to 
maturity  of  thought  and  felicity  of  expres- 
sion that  appealed  to  me  at  once.  He  had 
succeeded  a  brilliant  teacher,  Fales  Newhall, 
professor  of  rhetoric  and  English  literature 
and  instructor  in  Hebrew,  but  in  a  very  real 
sense  Professor  Winchester  introduced  into 
the  Wesleyan  curriculum  the  study  of  Eng- 
lish literature  as  distinct  from  facts  about 
literature. 

In  common  with  most  other  American  col- 
leges, Wesleyan,  for  the  first  forty  years  or 
more  of  its  history,  gave  little  attention  to 
the  systematic  study  of  literature;  rhetoric 
and  composition  and  debate  were  the  main- 
stays in  the  department  of  English.  Any 
young  fellow,  decently  brought  up,  was  sup- 
posed to  be  ready  to  read  literature  if  he 
could  find  the  time.  But  Professor  Win- 
83 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

Chester,  with  his  usual  keen  insight,  realized 
that  the  average  student  needs  some  guid- 
ance if  he  is  to  work  to  advantage,  and  he 
developed  a  simple  and  natural  plan  of  class- 
room work  along  with  outside  reading.  His 
method  was  to  supplement  a  brief  historical 
outline  of  the  literature  with  brilliant  com- 
ment on  individual  authors,  and  to  bring  the 
student  into  sympathetic  yet  critical  rela- 
tions with  the  literature  read  in  the  class- 
room. We  were  made  to  feel  that  literature 
is  a  human  thing  requiring  close  attention  to 
the  men  who  made  it.  And  a  very  effective 
method  it  was. 

As  I  look  back  to  those  days  of  long  ago, 
I  remember  the  thrill  that  came  over  me 
when,  under  his  inspiring  touch,  I  first  saw 
a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth!  I  had  had  a 
leaning  toward  mineralogy  and  geology,  and 
I  had  diligently  studied  rhombic  dodeca- 
hedrons and  scalenodedrons,  and  had  toyed 
a  little  with  the  pterodactyl  and  the  plesio- 
saurus,  but  I  soon  decided  that  such  com- 
pany was  rather  too  old  for  me,  and  I  began 
to  look  for  something  more  congenial. 

I  remember  marching  off  one  winter  night 
with  two  or  three  fellow  students  to  a  coun- 
84 


DINNER 

try  church  three  miles  away  to  hear  one  of 
the  earliest  of  those  brilliant  lectures  which 
have  since  then  charmed  so  many  thousands 
of  hearers.  That  night  I  stood  as  it  were  on 
a  mountain  top  and  for  the  first  time  looked 
across  the  great  enchanted  sea  of  literature 
on  which  I  was  to  spend  the  best  years  of  my 
life.  About  that  time  I  began  to  ask  my- 
self whether  I  might  not  some  day  venture 
in  humble  fashion  to  point  the  way  to  stu- 
dents of  English.  And,  as  things  sometimes 
come  to  those  that  stand  and  wait,  so  it  was 
with  me. 

I  pass  over  the  years  of  association  in  the 
Wesleyan  library,  where  Professor  Win- 
chester was  librarian  and  where  I  at  length 
became  assistant  librarian.  The  only  com- 
pensation I  had  in  my  student  days  was  the 
privilege  of  drawing  an  unlimited  number 
of  books  and  of  being  in  close  association 
with  the  librarian,  but  I  felt  that  the  return 
was  ample. 

In  the  decade  between  1880  and  1890, 
there  came  a  great  change  over  the  study  of 
English  in  American  colleges.  When  I  was 
a  student  at  Wesleyan,  very  few  colleges 
gave  courses  in  English  earlier  than  the  six- 

85 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

teenth  century,  except,  perhaps,  in  Chaucer; 
but  owing  to  the  activities  of  such  scholars 
as  Sievers  and  Ten  Brink  and  Zupitza  in 
Germany,  and  Furnivall  and  Morris  and 
Skeat  and  Sweet  in  England,  and  March 
and  Child  and  Cook  in  America,  there  was 
a  growing  realization  of  the  fact  that  it  was 
absurd  to  study  Latin  and  Greek  roots  and 
to  be  anxious  to  know  the  elements  of  the 
fixed  stars  and  to  give  no  attention  to  the 
antecedents  of  the  language  and  literature 
of  the  time  of  Shakespeare  and  Spenser  and 
Milton. 

In  the  year  1889  the  Ayres  bequest  of 
$250,000  wrought  something  of  a  revolution 
at  Wesleyan  and  made  specialization  in  vari- 
ous departments  possible.  This  was  a  re- 
form long  overdue.  In  my  student  years 
the  professors  were  expected  to  show  a  range 
of  knowledge  that  rivaled  King  Solomon's 
in  his  best  days,  and  they  discoursed  on 
everything  from  the  cedars  of  Lebanon  to 
the  hyssop  that  springeth  out  of  the  wall. 
Professor  Rice  once  covered  the  depart- 
ments of  geology,  mineralogy,  physical  ge- 
ography, physiology,  biology,  botany,  and 
the  relations  of  science  and  religion,  besides 

86 


DINNER 

serving  as  secretary  of  the  faculty  and  now 
and  then  as  college  preacher,  though  in  his 
later  career  he  contented  himself  mainly 
with  geology.  While  I  was  in  college,  Pro- 
fessor Winchester  covered  the  entire  field  of 
English  literature  and  language,  to  say 
nothing  of  rhetoric  and  composition  and 
logic  and  the  management  of  the  college 
library.  In  the  old  days  of  book  recitations 
this  was  all  very  well,  but  it  almost  smoth- 
ered the  man  who  tried  to  do  it. 

The  year  1890  marks  the  time  of  Profes- 
sor Winchester's  partial  emancipation  from 
bondage.  When  the  call  came  to  me  to  ac- 
cept a  chair  at  Wesleyan  after  three  years' 
study  in  Europe,  there  were  two  considera- 
tions that  mainly  influenced  me  to  come  to 
Wesleyan  rather  than  to  go  to  a  larger  uni- 
versity in  the  Middle  West ;  one  was  that  I 
might  work  in  my  own  college,  and  the  other, 
that  I  might  continue  my  association  with 
my  old  friend  and  teacher. 

For  considerably  more  than  a  quarter  of 
a  century  we  have  lived  side  by  side,  closer 
than  many  brothers  live,  and  as  peaceably 
as  two  kittens  in  a  basket.  The  relation  of 
two  closely  allied  departments  in  a  college 

87 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

like  Wesleyan  is  not  the  relation  of  two  ab- 
stractions: it  is  a  very  human  and  personal 
thing.  No  one  could  have  had  a  colleague 
more  delicately  considerate  than  I  have  had. 
There  inevitably  arise  numerous  occasions  in 
a  college  department,  as  in  the  best  regu- 
lated families,  for  wide  differences  of  opin- 
ion when  questions  of  policy  are  concerned. 
Yet  in  all  these  years  there  has  not  been  one 
serious  misunderstanding. 

I  could  say  more  and  yet  more,  but  I  real- 
ize that  my  time  is  spent  and  that  better 
things  are  yet  to  come,  still  I  may  at  least 
say  in  closing  that  I  am  proud  to  be  the  col- 
league of  one  who  for  many  years  has  been 
one  of  the  greatest,  if  not  the  greatest,  of 
the  humanizing  forces  that  have  moulded 
Wesleyan  University. 


88 


ADDRESS 

AS    COLLEAGUE    ON    THE    FACULTY    FOR 

A     HALF-CENTURY 

\ 

PROFESSOR  RICE,,  '65 

THE  speakers  who  have  preceded  me  are 
men  of  high  attainment  and  reputation  in 
the  study  of  literature,  and  are  abundantly 
competent  to  estimate  the  value  of  Profes- 
sor Winchester's  work  as  a  student,  a  critic, 
and  a  teacher  of  English  literature. 

I  have  no  such  qualifications.  I  am  an  un- 
sesthetic  scientist,  and  presumably  know  less 
about  English  literature  than  Professor 
Winchester  knows  about  geology.  He  cer- 
tainly once  knew  something  about  geology, 
for  I  passed  him  up.  The  only  reason  for 
my  being  on  the  program  is  a  half -century 
of  friendship  and  comradeship. 

Professor  Winchester  was  a  member  of 
the  first  class  upon  which  I  tried  my  'pren- 
tice hand  as  a  teacher.  The  art  of  recita- 
tion had  not  then  become  a  lost  art.  A  good 
student  in  those  days  was  accustomed  to  de- 
liver a  resume  of  one  or  two  pages  of  a  text- 

89 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

book,  more  or  less,  in  good,  clear  English, 
without  waiting  to  have  his  knowledge  cork- 
screwed out  of  him  by  a  series  of  questions. 
There  were  three  men  in  that  class  whose 
recitations  surpassed  almost  anything  that  I 
have  ever  heard  since.  In  recent  years  a  rec- 
itation such  as  those  men  were  accustomed 
to  make  would  have  taken  my  breath  away. 
Winchester  was  one  of  that  trio. 

In  those  old  days,  at  evening  chapel,  after 
hymn  and  prayer,  a  senior  was  accustomed 
to  ascend  the  platform  and  deliver  an  ora- 
tion. To  read  or  to  hear  the  compositions  of 
undergraduates  is  not  usually  a  great  inspi- 
ration to  an  instructor,  though  occasionally 
there  is  the  joy  of  seeing  in  the  performance 
of  an  undergraduate  some  embryonic  proph- 
ecy of  ability  to  do  something  some  time. 
There  was  one  man  in  that  first  senior  class 
— I  need  not  name  him — whose  orations  had 
a  maturity  of  thought  and  an  exquisite  beauty 
of  language  which  an  undergraduate  very 
seldom  attains.  Some  of  the  thoughts  and 
some  fine  turns  of  expression  impressed 
themselves  upon  my  memory,  and  remain  to 
this  day. 

At  his  graduation  in  1869,  Winchester 
90 


DINNER 

was  elected  librarian,  and  continued  in 
charge  of  the  library  until  1885,  though  in 
the  later  years  he  had  an  assistant  to  relieve 
him  of  most  of  the  routine  work.  In  1873 
he  was  elected  professor  of  the  department 
which  he  has  made  the  joy  and  pride  of  every 
son  of  Wesleyan. 

I  cannot  speak  of  his  lectures  on  literature 
from  the  point  of  view  of  an  expert.  But 
it  may  be  worth  while  to  speak  of  the  im- 
pression his  lectures  have  made  on  men  of 
my  own  class — men  of  some  general  intelli- 
gence, whose  main  intellectual  activities  have 
been  in  very  different  lines  from  his.  We 
men  of  science,  trained  to  minute  accuracy 
of  observation  and  cautious  induction,  deal- 
ing largely  in  careful  quantitative  work, 
weighing,  measuring,  counting,  and  map- 
ping, like  to  turn  to  literature  sometimes  for 
recreation  and  inspiration.  When  we  hear 
a  literary  lecture,  we  want  to  find  recreation 
or  inspiration.  We  are  not  greatly  inter- 
ested in  the  wissenschaftlich  criticism  which 
has  been  ground  out  so  abundantly  for  doc- 
toral theses  in  German  universities.  We 
are  not  anxious  for  inventories  of  strong  and 
weak  inflections,  of  dialectic  peculiarities,  of 

91 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

imperfect  rhymes,  or  of  metrical  eccentrici- 
ties. What  we  have  enjoyed  when  we  have 
heard  Professor  Winchester  lecture  on  lit- 
erature is  the  intense  humanity  which  he  has 
revealed.  He  has  made  us  acquainted  with 
the  writers  of  whom  we  have  heard  him 
speak,  so  that  we  have  taken  those  men  into 
the  circle  of  our  friends.  We  have  loved  to 
hear  him  because  he  has  enlarged  and  en- 
nobled our  human  experience.  We  like  him, 
too,  for  his  interest  in  normal  mental  proc- 
esses, in  wholesome  thoughts  and  feelings 
and  passions.  Literature,  as  he  has  pre- 
sented it  to  us,  is  not  a  museum  of  mental 
and  moral  pathology.  His  lectures  have 
inspired  us  with  a  new  appreciation  of  the 
religious  outlook  of  human  nature.  He  has 
not  preached  at  us,  but  no  less  he  has  shown 
us  that  human  thought  and  human  life  are 
noblest  when  they  are  linked  with  the  divine. 
I  have  always  been  impressed  in  his  lectures 
by  the  harmonious  union  of  delicacy  of  sen- 
timent and  strong  common  sense. 

For  fifty  years  I  have  been  a  colleague  of 

Professor  Winchester  in  the  faculty  of  Wes- 

leyan  University.    I  know  something  of  his 

faithfulness  in  all  the  details  of  college  work. 

92 


DINNER 

He  has  not  been  the  kind  of  professor  who 
knows  nothing  of  the  college  outside  of  his 
own  lecture  room  or  laboratory.  He  has 
been  a  useful  and  efficient  member  of  the 
faculty  in  the  general  work  of  the  college. 
He  has  served  on  innumerable  committees, 
including  some  of  the  most  important  ones, 
notably  the  committee  on  course  of  study 
and  the  advisory  committee  on  candidates 
for  faculty  positions.  His  usefulness  has 
not  been  exclusively  in  the  college.  He  has 
been  a  faithful  member  of  his  church  and  a 
good,  citizen  in  the  community.  In  the 
church  he  has  been  the  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  school,  a  teacher  of  a  Bible  class, 
and  always  an  inspiring  speaker  in  the 
prayer  meetings.  Once  he  was  a  delegate 
to  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

I  think  it  is  fortunate  that  he  has  served 
continuously  in  one  position.  Years  ago  he 
had  an  opportunity  to  go  to  a  great  univer- 
sity on  a  salary  larger  than  he  has  ever  re- 
ceived here.  But  I  believe  he  has  achieved 
a  greater  and  more  enduring  usefulness  by 
building  his  life  into  the  college  which  he  has 
loved. 

93 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

Well,  Winchester,  we  have  been  friends 
for  a  good  while.  What  good  times  we  had 
together  in  our  frisky  youth  when  we 
boarded  together!  How  we  startled  the 
staid  and  reverend  members  of  the  faculty, 
most  of  whom  were  old  enough  to  be  our 
fathers!  I  shall  never  forget  the  pathos 
with  which  you  used  to  sing  the  story  of 
Hamlet,  ending  with  that  direful  catastro- 
phe in  which 

. .  .  The  Danish  court 
All  tumbled  one  on  t'other. 

Our  extemporaneous  frolics  at  faculty 
parties  were  not  so  elaborately  artistic  as 
the  dramatic  shows  which  the  Monday  Club 
has  given  in  later  years;  but  they  did  not 
cost  much  time,  and  we  had  a  lot  of  fun. 
We  have  borne  together  the  burden  and  heat 
of  the  day.  We  have  rejoiced  in  each  other's 
joys  and  sympathized  in  each  other's  sor- 
rows. We  have  rejoiced  in  the  growing  en- 
dowment and  equipment,  reputation  and  in- 
fluence, of  the  college  we  have  loved.  And 
now  the  sun  hangs  low  near  the  western 
horizon.  May  the  twilight  be  long  and 
bright!  Let  me  close  in  the  words  of  that 
94 


DINNER 

great  poet  whom  you  have  taught  us  "how 
to  know,"  wishing  you 

.  .  .  An  old  age  serene  and  bright, 
And  lovely  as  a  Lapland  night. 


95 


RESPONSE 

PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER,  '69 

I  CONFESS  that  since  I  learned  two  or  three 
weeks  ago  of  the  honor  my  friends  were  pre- 
paring to  confer  upon  me,  I  have  had  a  kind 
of  dread  of  this  evening,  partly  because  it 
must  inevitably  dispel  any  illusion  which  I 
have  perhaps  too  long  indulged  that  I  am 
still  a  young  man — it  is  never  altogether 
pleasant  to  attend  the  funeral  of  your  own 
youth;  and  partly  also,  because  I  felt  that 
the  kind  things  which  would  be  said  with  ref- 
erence to  my  long  stay  and  work  in  Wes- 
leyan,  whatever  basis  of  fact  they  might 
have,  would  naturally  be  exaggerated  by 
personal  friendship  and  respect  for  mere 
years.  It  is  not  merely  "De  mortuis"  but 
also  ffDe  morituris  nil  nisi  bonum  dicendum 
est"  But  you  will  let  me  say  now  that,  as  I 
have  sat  here  this  evening,  all  such  feelings 
have  been  quite  overcome  and  forgotten  in 
the  assurance  of  your  personal  regard  and 
friendship,  for  it  is  this  that  has  touched  me 
most  deeply.  I  am,  of  course,  grateful  to 
96 


DINNER 

know  that  the  work  I  have  tried  to  do  in 
Wesleyan  through  the  years  has  been  in 
the  judgment  of  those  qualified  to  decide,  in 
some  respects,  successful;  but  I  am  more 
glad  that  I  may  think  that,  among  the  thou- 
sands of  students  I  have  known  in  the  last 
fifty  years,  I  have  so  many  friends ;  for  that 
is,  after  all,  about  the  best  reward  any 
teacher  can  have,  especially  a  teacher  who 
has  spent  all  his  life  in  the  same  place. 

I  know  you  will  pardon  me  if  an  occasion 
like  this  forces  my  thoughts  backward  over 
the  years.  I  have  often  of  late  recalled  the 
first  remark  I  ever  made  in  Middletown, 
some  fifteen  minutes  after  I  arrived;  it  was 
unconsciously  prophetic.  One  or  two  of 
my  hearers  will  remember  that  if  you  en- 
tered Middletown  by  rail  fifty  years  ago, 
as  you  alighted  from  the  train,  you  found 
yourself  facing  a  well-populated  graveyard, 
the  Roman  Catholic  cemetery.  Two  of  us 
boys,  that  July  morning,  coming  to  Middle- 
town  for  our  entrance  examination,  were  a 
bit  startled  by  that  greeting;  but,  as  we 
walked  up  a  few  steps  to  Main  Street,  we 
saw  at  the  first  corner  another  graveyard, 
the  old  cemetery  where  the  forefathers  of 

97 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

the  hamlet  have  been  sleeping  for  two  hun- 
dred years;  a  few  steps  farther,  and  we 
passed  a  third  graveyard,  appropriately 
named  the  Mortimer  cemetery,  flanked 
at  the  entrance  by  a  marble  cutter's  shop ;  a 
little  farther  on,  turning  up  the  old  street 
toward  the  college,  we  caught  a  glimpse  of 
another  cemetery,  and  yet  farther,  quite  on 
the  top  of  the  hill,  appeared  a  fifth.  I  said 
to  the  chum  with  me,  "George,  if  I  get  out 
of  this  town  alive,  it  will  evidently  be  more 
than  most  people  have  done."  I  am  glad  to 
say  that  prediction  has  been  fulfilled.  I 
never  expect  to  get  out  of  Middletown  alive, 
and  since  that  July  morning  fifty-four  years 
ago,  I  have  had  no  other  home.  I  may  safely 
say  that  during  the  whole  period  I  have 
been  attached  to  Middletown,  for,  except  the 
years  spent  abroad  on  college  leave,  I  have 
never  been  out  of  the  city  for  more  than  a 
few  weeks  at  a  time  in  the  half  century.  I 
count  it  a  privilege  to  have  lived  so  long  in 
the  most  beautiful  city  of  New  England, 
and  for  one-half  that  time  on  its  most  beauti- 
ful street,  a  city  set  in  a  region  of  which  I 
may  say,  parodying  old  Dr.  Butler:  "Doubt- 
less God  could  have  made  a  more  beautiful 
98 


DINNER 

region,  but  doubtless  God  never  did,"  a  re- 
gion whose  roads  and  lanes  and  hills  and 
streams  seem  to  me  more  lovely  every  year. 
I  count  myself  doubly  fortunate  to  have 
found  here  congenial  work  and  congenial 
friends  in  Wesleyan  University;  work  ex- 
panding to  the  limits  of  my  ability,  friends 
in  the  trustees,  faculty,  and  students  of  the 
college  to  whom  I  could  always  look  for 
hearty  support  and  fellowship.  All  the  work 
of  my  life  has  been,  in  some  way,  rooted  in 
Wesleyan  University;  it  is  a  comfort  to 
know  as  one  draws  toward  the  sunset,  that 
one's  work,  however  slight  its  success,  was 
blemished  by  no  really  fatal  errors,  dark- 
ened by  no  personal  animosities. 

But  this  is  not  the  hour  or  the  place  for 
purely  personal  reminiscence.  Let  me  rather 
say  something  of  the  old  college  as  I  first 
knew  it.  When  I  entered  Wesleyan  in 
1865,  the  catalogue  showed  an  attendance 
of  121;  the  senior  class  numbered  16;  there 
was  a  faculty  of  a  president,  five  professors, 
and  one  instructor.  When  I  graduated  in 
1869,  there  were  148  men  in  the  college.  In 
those  four  years  there  had  been  one  very 
notable  addition  to  the  faculty;  in  1867, 

99 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

William  North  Rice  was  elected  professor 
of  geology,  and  with  his  accession  began  the 
rapid  and  remarkable  development  in  sci- 
entific study  which  marked  the  history  of 
Wesley  an  for  the  next  half -century.  Some 
of  us  who  came  to  know  Professor  Rice  in 
our  senior  year,  and  have  known  him 
with  increasing  admiration  and  friendship 
through  the  following  years,  cannot  forget 
that  it  was  to  him  that  we  owed  our  intro- 
duction to  modern  scientific  thought  and  its 
manifold  relations  to  the  truths  of  life. 

But  I  want  to  say  a  word  in  commenda- 
tion of  that  little  college  of  the  later  sixties. 
I  am  sometimes  inclined  to  resent  the  tone 
of  advanced  superiority  in  which  I  hear  it 
spoken  of.  If  there  were  but  seven  men  on 
its  faculty,  they  had  only  about  140  men  to 
teach,  and  the  men  on  that  faculty  were  all 
real  teachers.  The  course  was,  at  all  events, 
compact  and  symmetrical ;  it  did  not  bewilder 
the  student  in  a  maze  of  electives ;  nor  did  it 
expect  him  to  decide  by  the  time  he  was 
through  sophomore  year  what  he  was  to  do 
for  the  rest  of  his  life,  and  to  choose  his  elec- 
tives in  accordance  with  that  decision.  It 
is  rather  the  fashion  to  depreciate  classical 
100 


DINNER 

study  just  now;  but  the  student  cf  Eirrglisb 
will  admit,  at  all  events,  that  there  is  hardly 
any  better  training  in  accuracy  and  felicity 
of  phrase  and  in  the  appreciation  of  liter- 
ary form,  than  the  attempt  to  translate  in  a 
satisfactory  way  some  of  the  odes  of  Hor- 
ace. Instruction  in  philosophy  and  econom- 
ics in  the  old  college  was  mostly  given,  not 
by  reading,  but  by  text-books  and  recitation, 
or  rather  by  text-books  and  discussion ;  per- 
haps there  is  no  better  method.  When,  for 
example,  President  Cummings,  in  the  class 
in  Butler's  Analogy,  said  to  one  of  his 
youngsters,  "Will  you  give  Butler's  argu- 
ment to  prove  that  the  present  scheme  of 
divine  government  is  not  perfect  but  pro- 
gressive?" and  then,  pushing  his  spectacles 
back  on  his  forehead,  waited  for  an  answer, 
you  found  it  necessary  to  have  a  close  train 
of  reasoning  packed  accurately  into  your 
mind  and  then  to  give  it  out  in  your  own 
words;  and  there  is  no  better  training  for 
both  thought  and  expression  than  that.  And, 
when  I  hear  it  said  sometimes  that  such  a 
narrow  and  academic  education  as  that  shut 
men  out  from  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the 
great  world,  and  won't  do  for  our  day  when 
101 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

we  ar£  just  nothing  out  of  a  great  world  war, 
and  the  air  is  full  of  questioning  and  danger, 
I  think  that  the  people  who  say  that  forget 
that,  when  we  boys  entered  college  in  1865, 
we  too  had  just  come  out  of  a  great  war  in 
which  our  fathers,  brothers,  nay  some  of  us, 
had  been  fighting  (five  of  my  own  class  saw 
service  in  the  Civil  War).  That  was  a  war 
that  came  near  being  a  world  conflagration. 
We  remembered  when  Mr.  Adams  said  to 
England's  prime  minister,  "Your  Excel- 
lency will  remember  that  this  means  war"; 
when  Napoleon  the  Little  had  almost  got  his 
imperial  grip  upon  Mexico ;  we  remembered 
when  the  greatest  American  was  assassin- 
ated ;  our  first  presidential  vote  was  cast  for 
General  Grant;  and  all  through  our  college 
course  and  for  some  time  thereafter,  the 
country  was  seething  with  problems  more 
difficult  and  serious  even  than  those  of  to- 
day. No!  The  old  college  that  taught  men 
to  think  did  not  unfit  men  for  life. 

But  you  will  not  infer  from  the  enthusi- 
asm of  an  old  man  for  the  college  that  found 
him  young — and  did  very  much  to  keep  him 
so — that  I  suppose  the  college  of  the  late 
sixties  would  suit  the  conditions  of  to-day. 
102 


DINNER 

A  college  or  any  other  institution  that  does 
not  grow  and  adapt  itself  to  changing  con- 
ditions is  dying.  Wesleyan  has  been  stead- 
ily growing  for  the  last  half -century.  Every- 
body admits  that  the  most  striking  phenom- 
enon for  the  last  thirty  years  is  the  rapid 
growth  of  physical  science  and  its  manifold 
influences  and  relations  to  the  needs  and 
thoughts  of  men.  Professor  Rice  could  tell 
you  how  promptly  and  ably  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity responded  to  this  great  advance  in 
thought.  If  I  emphasize  for  a  few  moments 
the  growth  of  interest  in  another  depart- 
ment, it  is  because  I  am  better  acquainted 
with  it.  But  let  me  here  disclaim  any  such 
important  part  in  the  development  of  Eng- 
lish literature  in  the  college  as  my  friends 
have  been  kind  enough  to  suggest.  It  was 
rather  my  good  fortune,  when  I  was  gradu- 
ated without  any  special  preparation  for 
anything,  to  be  assigned  to  work  for  which 
at  that  time  it  was  the  general  opinion  that 
no  special  preparation  was  necessary — I  was 
first  appointed  college  librarian.  A  new 
library  building  had  just  been  built  large 
enough  to  accommodate  90,000  volumes,  and 
we  had  13,000  volumes  to  put  in  it.  To  ar- 
103 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

range  these  volumes  on  the  shelves  and  des- 
ignate them  by  proper  labels  would  seem  a 
task  that  might  safely  be  intrusted  to  an 
intelligent  youngster  with  some  liking  for 
the  outsides  of  books.  That  was  nominally 
my  work  for  the  next  four  years.  I  very 
soon  found,  however,  as  other  librarians  were 
finding — Dr.  Dewey  at  Amherst,  for  exam- 
ple— that  with  a  growing  library  the  system 
of  arrangement  for  which  our  library  was 
built  was  inadequate;  I  began  to  change  it 
before  I  left  the  library,  and  my  successors 
have  been  changing  it  ever  since.  Our  li- 
brary to-day  is  larger  than  fifty  years  ago 
by  100,000  volumes,  and  no  one  would  be 
for  one  moment  considered  competent  to  do 
the  work  of  arranging  or  cataloguing  it 
who  had  not  been  trained  in  modern  library 
science. 

I  began  my  teaching  of  English  with  a 
similar  lack  of  preparation.  During  my 
undergraduate  years,  little  English  was 
taught  in  college,  and  none  was  required  for 
admission.  It  is  true  that,  under  the  head 
of  English  requirements  printed  in  the  cat- 
alogue, stood  the  portentous  statement,  "An- 
cient and  modern  history,  ancient  and  mod- 
104 


DINNER 

ern  geography,  English  grammar."  How 
much  ancient  and  modern  geography  and 
history  the  examiners  expected  to  get  or 
the  candidates  proposed  to  give,  I  am  sure 
I  don't  know;  I  have  no  recollection  about 
it,  but  I  do  remember  my  own  examination 
in  English  grammar.  It  was  conducted  by 
the  venerable  John  Johnston,  professor  of 
all  the  natural  sciences,  and  it  ran  thus:  "Mr. 
Winchester?"  "Yes."  "  'Oh,  f or  a  lodge  in 
some  vast  wilderness,  some  boundless  con- 
tiguity of  shade!'  Parse  shade"  How  I 
parsed  shade  I  do  not  know,  but  when  I  had 
done  it,  I  had  passed  the  examination. 

A  year  or  two  before  I  entered  Wesleyan, 
one  of  the  most  brilliant  men  that  ever 
taught  here,  Fales  Newhall,  was  elected  pro- 
fessor of  rhetoric  and  English  literature  and 
instructor  in  Hebrew.  Doctor  Newhall 
taught  rhetoric  during  several  years,  in  class 
and  out  of  it;  he  could  not  help  it;  but  per- 
haps the  work  he  most  enjoyed  was  that 
as  instructor  in  Hebrew.  In  my  senior 
year  I  elected  Hebrew,  partly  because  the 
only  elective  offered  in  college  then  was  a 
cruel  choice  between  Hebrew  and  differen- 
tial calculus,  and  I  felt  I  had  reached  the 
105 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

limit  of  my  own  mathematical  attainments; 
partly,  however,  because  I  wanted  to  be  in 
Doctor  Newhall's  class.  I  did  not  get  much 
Hebrew,  nor  care  to,  but  I  shall  always  re- 
member the  intense  vividness  with  which  he 
used  to  read  and  expound  some  passages  in 
Isaiah  and  in  the  Psalms — that  was  teaching 
English  literature !  As  to  his  formal  instruc- 
tion in  English  literature,  it  comprised 
merely  one  term's  study,  sophomore  year,  of 
a  rather  dry  history  of  English  literature; 
and  when  Professor  Newhall  left,  in  1871, 
even  that  was  dropped. 

The  year  1873,  as  you  know,  marks  the 
beginning  of  a  new  period  in  the  history  of 
our  curriculum;  for  it  was  then  that  a  plan 
of  elective  study  was  somewhat  cautiously 
introduced.  It  was  in  this  college  year  1873- 
1874  that  English  literature  began  to  be 
taught  in  Wesleyan.  Here  again,  if  I  may 
drop  into  autobiography,  I  was  in  luck. 
When  I  was  appointed  librarian  at  my  grad- 
uation, I  do  not  suppose  anyone  ever  ex- 
pected I  should  teach  anything;  I  had  no 
such  expectation  myself.  In  the  next  two 
or  three  years  I  was  employed  several  times 
as  a  stop -gap;  before  the  end  of  my  first 
106 


DINNER 

year  I  helped  in  the  rhetorical  work  of  the 
freshman  and  sophomore  years,  and  was 
once  even  put  in  charge  of  a  class  in  logic. 
When,  therefore,  it  was  decided  that  some 
English  literature  ought  to  go  into  the  list 
of  elective  studies;  as  the  professor  of 
modern  languages  did  not  care  to  take  it 
and  as  there  was  no  one  else  at  hand,  with  a 
very  unjustifiable  rashness  I  was  made  pro- 
fessor of  rhetoric  and  English  literature.  I 
had  but  one  course,  assigned  to  the  junior 
year,  but  I  ventured  in  this  course  to  adopt 
a  more  modern  and  scholarly  text-book,  and 
to  combine  with  the  text-book  work  the 
careful  reading  in  class  of  several  great 
English  classics,  Chaucer,  Spenser,  Shake- 
speare, Milton,  and  Pope.  The  plan  was, 
in  following  years,  modified  and  enlarged 
in  various  ways,  especially  by  requiring 
every  member  of  the  class  to  take  a  short 
course  of  collateral  reading  by  himself. 
About  1880,  being  relieved  of  work  in  the 
library,  and  of  teaching  in  other  depart- 
ments, I  ventured  to  add  a  second  more  ad- 
vanced course  so  that  the  work  of  the  de- 
partment might  run  into  two  years.  In 
1890,  when  my  friend,  Professor  Mead,  took 
107 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

charge  of  rhetoric  in  the  lower  classes,  I  was 
enabled  to  add  yet  another  course,  thus  giv- 
ing three  full-year  courses  to  the  study,  and 
I  soon  added  a  one-hour  course  of  lectures 
on  literary  criticism.  Professor  Mead  also 
extended  the  range  of  English  study  by  of- 
fering early  English  and  linguistics.  This 
has  been  the  program  of  the  department  for 
the  past  twenty  years,  except  that  within 
the  last  ten  years,  with  the  increase  in  size 
of  the  classes,  the  introductory  courses  have 
been  given  in  part  by  assistants. 

I  may  add  that  the  large  but  meaningless 
statement  for  admission  in  English,  "ancient 
history,  geography,  grammar,"  written  in 
the  catalogue  remained  there  until  1873, 
when  I  succeeded  in  having  it  changed  to 
"English  grammar  and  history  of  the  United 
States."  In  the  late  seventies,  I  think  first 
in  1878,  a  number  of  teachers  of  English  in 
the  New  England  colleges  held  a  conference 
to  see  if  it  were  not  possible  to  arrange  a 
reasonable  and  uniform  admission  require- 
ment in  English,  a  requirement  which  should 
lay  the  foundation  for  further  study  in  col- 
lege and  at  the  same  time  encourage  the 
study  of  English  in  secondary  schools.  As 
108 


DINNER 

a  result  of  the  meeting,  there  appeared  in  our 
catalogue  and  in  those  of  several  colleges  in 
the  year  1880-1881  a  new  requirement  call- 
ing for  the  writing  at  the  hour  of  the  exam- 
ination of  a  brief  essay,  the  subject  to  be 
taken  from  one  of  several  specified  English 
masterpieces.  The  example  was  followed  by 
other  colleges,  and  in  1885  there  was  formed 
the  Commission  of  New  England  Colleges 
on  Entrance  Examinations,  which  in  the 
next  fifteen  years  secured  unified  require- 
ments not  only  in  English  but  in  several 
other  studies,  and  by  subsequent  arrange- 
ment has  provided  for  uniformity  of  en- 
trance examinations  in  most  of  the  colleges 
of  the  United  States. 

This  brief  sketch  may  show  that  Wesleyan 
was  not  behind  her  sister  New  England  col- 
leges in  recognizing  the  importance  of  Eng- 
lish literature.  And  to-day  no  one  surely 
will  deny  the  claim  of  the  literature  of  our 
own  language  to  a  place  in  any  system  of 
higher  education.  If,  as  Mr.  Arnold  ob- 
served, culture  consists  in  knowing  "the 
best  which  has  been  thought  and  said,"  then 
culture  is  manifestly  hardly  possible  without 
an  acquaintance  with  literature.  For,  what 
109 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

is  literature?  Not  perhaps  all  the  best  that 
has  been  thought  and  said,  for  that  might 
include  science;  but  literature  is  the  best 
thought  that  has  been  touched  and  vitalized 
with  emotion  and  uttered  in  a  manner  of 
lasting  charm.  Thus  defined,  literature  is 
obviously  the  best  interpreter  of  life — the 
life  of  the  individual  man  and  the  life  of  his- 
torical periods.  For  the  temper  of  a  man 
depends  not  merely  nor  principally  upon 
what  he  thinks,  but  upon  what  he  feels;  the 
character  of  an  age  depends  not  merely  upon 
its  permanent  intellectual  qualities,  but  upon 
its  dominant  tone  of  feeling.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  if  we  wish  to  know  any  life 
outside  the  little  circle  of  our  own  personal 
acquaintance,  we  must  know  it  largely 
through  books.  If  you  want  to  understand 
the  growth  of  thought  and  accompanying 
changes  of  feeling  on  matters  of  scientific, 
religious,  political,  and  social  importance, 
say,  in  England  from  1840  to  1880,  you  must 
read  Tennyson,  Browning,  Arnold,  Car- 
lyle.  You  will  find  there  the  best  record  of 
the  inner  life  of  the  period. 

This  statement  may  suggest  that  our  con- 
ception of  literature  is  often  too  narrow.  We 
110 


DINNER 

are  prone  to  confine  the  term  to  such  writ- 
ings as  appeal  primarily  to  the  sense  of 
beauty,  of  which  poetry  may  be  the  purest 
type.  But  no  really  good  literature,  I 
think,  was  ever  born  of  merely  aesthetic  im- 
pulse. The  maxim,  "Art  for  art's  sake," 
marks  a  narrow  and  shallow  literature. 
Keats  says,  I  know,  "A  thing  of  beauty  is 
a  joy  forever."  That  is  true,  and  it  is  the 
secret  of  some  specimens  of  literature, 
Keats's  own  poems  for  example.  We  re- 
member them,  we  admire  them,  but  we  do 
not  live  with  them.  For  the  great  books  do 
not  merely  soothe  and  satisfy,  they  arouse 
and  inspire ;  a  great  literature  must  be  wise 
as  well  as  beautiful.  Thus  the  round  of  good 
literature  which  may  be  studied  and  taught 
in  college  stimulates  all  ideas  of  our  think- 
ing for  all  our  lives  long.  I  have  been  read- 
ing with  two  classes  this  year,  in  one,  the 
writings  of  Edmund  Burke,  and  in  the  other 
the  writings  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson.  Of 
the  brilliance  and  force  of  Burke's  style  and 
the  subtlety  of  Emerson's  I  think  I  had  some 
appreciation  years  ago;  but  every  read- 
ing enlarges  one's  conception  of  Burke's  po- 
litical wisdom,  which  in  some  passages  seems 
111 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

almost  prophetic  and  might  have  been  writ- 
ten to-day;  and  every  reading  of  Emer- 
son clarifies  our  vision  of  those  truths  of  his 
philosophy  which  underlie  our  deepest 
thinking,  now  and  always.  There  may  be 
questions  as  to  how  much  of  our  literature 
should  be  read  in  college,  questions  as  to  the 
order  in  which  it  should  be  studied,  questions 
as  to  the  best  method  of  approach — whether 
historical,  biographical,  or  critical;  on  all 
such  questions  teachers  will  differ,  and  it  is 
perhaps  only  by  experience  that  any  teacher 
can  map  out  a  scheme  of  study  suited  to 
college  work;  but  there  is  no  question  that 
every  college  ought  to  give  opportunity  and 
invitation  for  such  lines  of  study. 

If  it  is  to  be  said  that  a  true  appreciation 
of  the  best  literature  is  beyond  the  ability  of 
young  men  in  college,  that  may  be  admit- 
ted readily  enough — it  is  beyond  the  ability 
of  professors  too.  I  never  felt  so  strongly 
as  this  year  the  need  of  more  history  and 
political  science  to  appreciate  Burke,  or 
more  philosophy  to  appreciate  Emerson. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  most  young  men  by 
the  time  they  are  half  way  through  college 
are  beginning  to  discover  their  natural  in- 
112 


DINNER 

tellectual  and  emotional  aptitudes;  that  is 
what  they  come  to  college  for.  I  think,  in- 
deed, that  the  study  of  literature  should 
always  be  elective,  for  the  degree  of  enjoy- 
ment that  must  precede  literary  apprecia- 
tion cannot  be  required  and  commanded; 
but,  given  such  initial  inclination,  the  stu- 
dent will  respond  to  the  growing  attractive- 
ness of  his  author  and  will  soon  feel  that  a 
real  appreciation  of  literature  is  impossible 
with  a  careless  or  desultory  reading,  but 
that  it  demands  and  will  repay  close  study. 
And  may  I  say  in  a  word  that  I  think  this 
cultivation  of  a  liking  for  the  best  in  litera- 
ture was  never  more  needed  than  at  the  pres- 
ent moment.  I  remember  that  ever  since  the 
time  of  Horace,  the  old  man  has  been  a  "lau- 
dator  temporis  acti"  and  I  must  not  close 
on  a  note  of  depreciation  of  everything  less 
than  a  half -century  old;  but  I  must  confess 
that  of  late  I  can  understand  the  maxim  of 
Charles  Lamb:  "When  a  new  book  comes 
out,  I  always  read  an  old  one."  For  I  re- 
member some  books  that  were  new  in  my 
college  days:  Tennyson's  Enoch  Arden  and 
Idylls  of  the  King,  and  Browning's  Drama- 
tis Persona  and  The  Ring  and  the  Book, 
113 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

Matthew  Arnold's  poems  and  most  of  his 
essays.  I  remember  also  some  books  writ- 
ten on  this  side  of  the  water.  I  remember 
on  a  day's  journey,  during  a  summer  vaca- 
tion, reading  Whittier's  Snow-Bound,  the 
most  perfect  idyll  of  New  England  life  ever 
written.  As  for  war  poetry,  the  year  I  en- 
tered college  James  Russell  Lowell  was 
writing  the  last  and  best  of  the  Biglow  Pa- 
pers and  the  great  Commemoration  Ode. 
Emerson  had  recently  published  the  noble 
quatrain  on  Sacrifice: 

Though  love  repine,  and  reason  chafe, 
There  came  a  voice  without  reply, — 

"  'Tis  man's  perdition  to  be  safe, 

When  for  the  truth  he  ought  to  die." 

Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  was  writing  the 
Breakfast  Table  series  in  the  new  Atlantic 
Monthly,  and  Emerson  was  still  giving  life 
to  the  last  gleanings  of  his  noble  heart. 
When  I  entered  college,  two  great  novelists, 
one  in  America  and  one  in  England,  had 
just  died,  Hawthorne  and  Thackeray.  And 
in  my  freshman  year  the  students  were  in- 
terested enough  to  write  essays  about  them. 
In  my  junior  year,  if  I  remember  rightly, 
114 


DINNER 

the  third  great  novelist,  Charles  Dickens, 
came  to  see  us  here  in  America,  and  we  stu- 
dents crowded  up  to  Hartford  to  see  him 
and  hear  him  read.  There  are  novels  enough 
now  being  published  in  English,  but  can  you 
mention  a  single  one  of  them  that  you  are 
sure  will  be  known  and  quoted  fifty  years 
from  now?  We  read  enough  to-day — too 
much — we  have  a  plague  of  reading,  but  I 
am  inclined  to  say  that  never  has  there  been 
a  time  when  men  read  so  much  and  thought 
so  little.  Some  of  us  in  our  college  days 
were  not  much  used  to  the  theater,  but  we 
managed  to  hear  Fechter  and  Edwin  Booth 
in  "Hamlet,"  and  a  little  later  in  England, 
Henry  Irving;  but  nowadays,  seven  nights 
a  week,  men  and  women  flock  to  moving  pic- 
ture shows  which  seem  especially  adapted 
to  deaf-and-dumb  amusement  of  feeble  im- 
aginations. Nothing  keeps  the  heart  young 
like  really  great  literature,  but  most  of  the 
plays  that  are  written  to-day  seem  intended 
to  minister  to  the  unhealthy  curiosity  of 
callow  youth  or  to  amuse  the  senility  of 
second  childhood.  As  to  poetry,  we  have  a 
whole  school  who  assure  us  not  only  that 
they  are  poets,  but  declare  themselves  to  be 
115 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

the  first  and  only  original  poets  of  America. 
The  lady  who  is  the  leader  and  sponsor  for 
the  school,  and  who  has  written  what  she 
calls  poetry  on  some  red  slippers  in  a  Bos- 
ton shop  window,  and  on  the  dining  room  in 
the  Grand  Central  Station,  and  other  poems 
in  verse,  free  in  more  senses  than  one,  on 
vulgar  life  in  decayed  New  England  towns, 
has  also  written  essays  in  which  she  gravely 
declares  that  her  great  namesake  of  the  Big- 
low  Papers  who  set  the  real  Yankee  in  verse 
was  probably  a  cultivated,  well-read  man, 
but  not  really  a  poet — least  of  all,  a  gentle- 
manly American  poet. 

Well,  time  will  show.  Meantime  I  think 
we  shall  do  well  to  cherish  for  ourselves  and 
to  recommend  to  all  our  pupils  those  ideals 
of  spirit  and  form  which  have  been  embod- 
ied in  lasting  literature — literature  that 
keeps  the  intellect  strong,  the  heart  young, 
the  imagination  fresh,  and  the  feelings  pure. 
For  myself,  I  can  say  as  I  sit  down,  and  it  is 
the  sum  of  all  that  I  have  to  say,  that  I  am 
thankful  to  Wesleyan  for  having  given  me 
the  privilege  of  spending  fifty  years  of  my 
life  largely  in  the  reading  and  studying  of 
such  literature  in  the  company  of  younger 
116 


DINNER 

pupils  who  shared  and  doubled  my  own  en- 
thusiasm. 

It  is  getting  toward  the  sunset;  only  seven 
members  of  my  own  class  are  yet  living;  no 
man  who  was  on  the  faculty  of  Wesleyan 
when  I  first  joined  it  is  now  in  active  service. 
I  miss  many  friends  and  many  joys  that  live 
now  only  in  memory.  As  we  grow  old,  we 
must  needs  "count  our  rosary  by  the  beads 
we  miss."  It  has  been  my  privilege  for  all 
these  years  to  think  almost  daily,  and  in  some 
measure  to  help  others  to  think  also,  upon 
those  things  that  are  pure,  and  just,  and 
honest,  and  lovely,  and  of  good  report,  as 
they  are  enshrined  in  literature;  and  it  is 
just  because  that  has  been  my  privilege  that 
I  have  escaped  and  still  hope  to  escape  some- 
thing of  the  chill  of  life's  late  afternoon,  and 

Obey  at  eve  the  voice  obeyed  at  prime. 


117 


WESLEYAN  UNIVERSITY 

DAILY  CHAPEL  SERVICE 
THURSDAY,  MARCH  25,  1920 

(The  morning  following  Professor   Win- 
chester's death) 


PRAYER 

BY  PROFESSOR  CRAWFORD 

OUR  heavenly  Father,  thou  knowest  the 
burdened  hearts  with  which  we  come  into 
thy  presence  this  morning.  Yesterday  the 
gifted  teacher,  the  beloved  friend  was  with 
us.  To-day  he  is  gone.  He  who  for  over 
half  a  century  has  spoken  to  the  men  on  this 
campus  words  of  high  inspiration,  of  poetic 
beauty,  of  kindly  sympathy,  will  speak  such 
words  no  more  forever.  O  God,  our  Father, 
our  broken  words  cannot  tell  our  loss  to  thee 
nor  even  to  ourselves. 

But  while  our  hearts  are  full  of  grief,  they 
are  also  full  of  gratitude.  We  thank  thee, 
O  God,  for  thy  gift  to  the  world  in  the  life 
and  service  of  Caleb  Winchester.  We  thank 
thee  for  what  that  life  has  meant  to  us  and 
to  all  the  multitudes  whom  it  has  touched 
for  good.  We  thank  thee  for  the  keen  intel- 
lect and  the  rare  gift  of  utterance  which  en- 
abled him  to  interpret  to  successive  genera- 
tions of  college  students  the  highest  truths 
of  literature,  history,  and  philosophy;  for 
121 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

the  friendly  sympathy  which  bound  us  to 
him  by  ties  which  nothing  could  sever  save 
cruel  death  itself;  for  his  simple  and  un- 
faltering faith  in  thee ;  and  for  the  steady  will 
which  transmuted  that  faith  into  righteous 
living.  And  we  thank  thee  for  our  faith  that 
that  noble  soul  which  has  left  us  has  not 
simply  been  blotted  out,  but  has  only  been 
called  to  the  fellowship  of  the  church  tri- 
umphant which  is  without  fault  before  the 
throne  of  God. 

We  humbly  invoke  thy  blessing  on  the 
stricken  family  from  whom  thou  hast  re- 
moved husband  and  father  and  brother. 
We  pray  for  the  college  which  he  loved,  and 
to  which  he  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  de- 
votion. We  beseech  thee  that  here,  and 
wherever  youth  are  gathered  for  study,  thou 
wilt  raise  up  men  of  talent  who  shall  dedi- 
cate their  talent  to  the  high  ideals  which  our 
brother  cherished,  and  who  shall  be  sustained 
in  life  and  in  death  by  the  same  faith  which 
sustained  him.  We  ask  in  the  name  of  his 
Master  and  ours.  Amen. 


122 


REMARKS 

BY  VICE-PRESIDENT  DUTCHER 

ONE  thought  fills  our  minds  this  morning. 
We  are  bowed  in  a  common  sorrow  because 
our  Professor  Winchester  passed  from 
among  us  last  evening.  Whether  we  had 
known  him  for  a  half -century,  as  had  Pro- 
fessor Crawford,  or  for  a  score  of  years,  as 
was  my  own  privilege,  or  for  the  four  years 
of  the  college  generation,  as  had  you  seniors, 
or  for  a  few  short  weeks,  as  had  you  men  of 
the  freshman  class — we  all  loved  him,  we  all 
feel  a  deep  sense  of  personal  loss. 

This  is  not  the  time  to  rehearse  our  appre- 
ciation of  his  rich  scholarship,  of  his  exquis- 
ite literary  taste,  of  his  virile  philosophy  of 
life,  of  his  sincere  Christian  faith  exempli- 
fied in  a  life  of  rare  consistency,  of  his  quiet 
but  deep  moral  earnestness,  of  his  charm  and 
inspiration  as  a  teacher.  We  think  of  him 
at  this  hour  as  a  regular  attendant  upon 
these  chapel  services,  of  the  religious  value 
of  which  he  often  spoke  with  deep  feeling, 
and  as  a  leader  in  these  morning  devotions 
123 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

whose  prayers  were  beautiful  benedictions. 
We  think  of  him  as  the  friend  whose  gra- 
cious manner  and  kindly  speech  always 
warmed  our  hearts,  as  the  wise  counselor  to 
whom  we  always  turned  with  a  confidence 
that  was  never  disappointed.  You  younger 
men  of  the  student  body,  like  the  members  of 
fifty  earlier  Wesleyan  classes,  will  ever  re- 
member him  as  the  best  beloved  of  teachers. 
We  older  men  of  the  faculty  have,  through 
the  years  of  our  service  at  Wesleyan,  looked 
to  him  as  an  exemplar,  and  have  ventured  to 
hope  that  in  some  degree  our  own  efforts 
might  partake  of  the  fine  qualities  we  marked 
in  the  wisdom  and  excellence  of  his  teaching. 
To  us  all  his  life  will  remain  an  inspiration 
and  a  challenge. 

Our  own  grief  is  deep  and  overcoming, 
but  we  do  not  forget  those  who  knew  him 
in  the  sweeter  and  closer  relations  of  the 
home,  to  whom  our  sympathy  goes  out,  and 
for  whom  we  offer  our  earnest  prayers  to 
the  heavenly  Father  for  the  consolation  he 
alone  can  bring  to  them  in  their  irreparable 
loss. 


124. 


FUNERAL 

OF 
PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

SATURDAY,  MAECH  27,  1920 


REMARKS 
BY  REV.  WILLIAM  DE  VERNE  BEACH,  D.D. 

Pastor,  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
Middletown,  Connecticut,   1913-1920 

FIFTY-FIVE  years  ago  Caleb  Thomas  Win- 
chester united  with  the  First  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  this  city,  coming  from 
Wilbraham,  Massachusetts,  where  he  had 
been  a  student,  and  for  all  these  years  he  has 
been  continuously  a  member,  not  merely  in 
the  sense  that  his  name  has  been  upon  the 
roll,  but  in  that  he  has  steadily  carried  the 
church  in  his  thought  and  affection,  and  has 
conscientiously  given  of  his  time  and 
strength  and  money  for  its  life.  He  has 
occupied  most  of  the  official  positions?  with- 
in the  gift  of  the  church,  such  as  luinday 
school  teacher,  Sunday  school  superintend- 
ent, steward,  trustee,  and  chairman  of  the 
music  committee,  and  he  has  magnified  them 
all  by  the  grace  of  his  personality  and  the 
efficiency  of  his  service.  Altogether  he  has 
built  himself  into  the  church  in  a  unique  way, 
which  makes  it  difficult  to  overestimate  his 
127 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

worth,  even  as  it  will  be  impossible  for  any 
one  to  fill  his  place.  In  his  going  from  us 
we  feel  a  sense  of  irreparable  loss.  It  is 

As  when  a  lordly  cedar,  green  with  boughs, 
Goes  down  with  a  great  shout  upon  the  hills, 
And  leaves  a  lonesome  place  against  the  sky. 

It  was  my  high  privilege  to  be  Professor 
Winchester's  pastor  for  seven  years.  The 
friendship  thus  granted  me  revealed  quali- 
ties in  him  concerning  which  I  wish  I  were 
more  competent  to  speak — simplicity  of 
heart  and  singleness  of  purpose,  sturdy 
fidelity  to  duty  at  all  times  and  under  all 
conditions,  grace  and  charm  which  marked 
his  whole  life  even  as  they  did  each  separate 
task.  Many  other  characteristics  may  seem 
to  others  of  his  friends  to  be  equally  promi- 
nent^ these  were  the  three  which  impressed 
me  most. 

His  interests  were  wide  in  range  and  rich 
in  variety — literature  first  and  foremost,  of 
course ;  but  music,  also,  of  which  he  was  pas- 
sionately fond,  and  in  which  he  was  person- 
ally more  gifted  than  his  modesty  would  ad- 
mit; education,  a  concern  which  prompted 
him  for  many  years  to  lend  his  aid  to  Wil- 
128 


FUNERAL 

braham  Academy,  the  president  of  whose 
board  of  trustees  he  was  at  his  death;  and 
civic  matters;  and  sports — my  purpose  is 
not  to  exhaust  the  list,  but  to  suggest  that  in 
the  simplicity  of  Professor  Winchester's 
faith  and  the  singleness  of  his  purpose,  they 
were  not  many  things  but  one.  I  did  not 
name  religion  as  one  of  his  interests,  because 
it  was  not  one  among  many,  but  one  in  and 
through  them  all.  It  was  not  something 
apart  from  the  rest  of  life,  it  was  a  part  of 
all  his  life.  In  both  his  thinking  and  his 
living  the  line  between  secular  and  sacred 
had  vanished.  It  was  one  of  his  frequent 
remarks  that  he  thought  he  was  serving  God 
as  truly  while  he  lectured  at  college  as  when 
he  led  in  prayer  at  church.  He  had  achieved 
what  Saint  Paul  said  about  his  own  life:  it 
was  all  "one  thing,"  the  whole  inner  life 
united  in  loyalty  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  whole 
varied  round  of  outer  activities  made  one 
by  their  consecration  to  that  same  Master 
and  Lord. 

Equally  marked  was  his  fidelity  to  duty, 
whether  in  matters  large  or  small,  vitally 
important  or  seemingly  insignificant.    Pro- 
fessor Winchester  may  have  had  moods,  as 
129 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

most  of  us  have;  if  so  they  were  never  al- 
lowed to  interfere  with  the  doing  of  his  work 
and  the  fulfilling  of  his  obligations.  He 
valued  the  emotions  highly.  Spending  so 
much  of  his  life  in  dealing  with  literature, 
the  touchstone  of  which  is  its  power  of  ap- 
peal to  the  emotions,  he  had  a  nature  wide 
open  for  the  play  of  feeling.  His  essays  in 
literary  criticism  and  his  interpretations  of 
the  great  poets  will  live  because  they  give 
expression  not  only  to  clear  intellectual 
judgments,  but  also  to  rich  emotional  ap- 
peal. In  his  spiritual  life  also  there  was 
very  much  of  "the  joy  of  his  Lord."  But 
whether  with  or  without  emotion  you  could 
always  count  upon  Professor  Winchester 
to  do  his  duty.  Perhaps  because  he  had 
seen  so  often  the  merely  emotional  nature, 
unsupported  by  conscience  and  will,  he  often 
seemed  to  deprecate  enthusiasm.  To 

. .  .  run  my  course  with  even  joy, 
And  closely  walk  with  thee  to  heaven, 

was  frequently  the  desire  he  expressed  in 
Charles  Wesley's  familiar  lines. 

It  sometimes  happened  that  his  judgment 
disapproved  a  decision  made  in  some  com- 
130 


FUNERAL 

mittee  or  board  to  which  he  belonged.  The 
decision  once  made,  however,  the  loyalty  and 
generosity  of  no  one  could  exceed  his  own. 

There  were  times  in  these  later  years  when 
physical  condition  and  personal  inclination 
might  have  pleaded  excuse  from  this  or  that 
obligation;  his  motto,  borrowed  from  that 
of  his  close  friend,  Professor  Westgate,  was 
ever,  "Let  us  attend  to  the  duty  of  the  hour." 

Preeminent  among  his  qualities  was  the 
charm  of  his  Christian  character,  the  gra- 
ciousness  of  his  personality.  The  lines  of 
Wordsworth  which  he  so  often  quoted, 

That  best  portion  of  a  good  man's  life, 
His  little,  nameless,  unremembered  acts 
Of  kindness  and  of  love, 

found  fine  illustration  in  himself.  He  added 
to  genuine  friendliness  the  touch  of  grace. 
He  not  only  held  the  Christian  doctrine,  he 
adorned  it.  He  not  only  displayed  the 
strength  of  Christian  holiness,  he  revealed 
the  beauty  of  it. 

I  know  of  no  argument  for  immortality 

outside  the  Scriptures  equal  to  that  of  a  life 

like  this  which  has  just  gone  from  our  sight. 

A  little  child  playing  in  the  sand  may  build 

131 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

his  house  and  tear  it  down  at  will.  We  do 
not  mind,  for  it  is  only  a  child  at  play.  For 
the  Powers-that-be  to  rear  such  a  structure 
as  this  human  life  has  been,  with  such  tran- 
scendent gifts,  for  a  comparative  moment 
of  time,  only  to  cast  it  one  side  as  rubbish, 
is  to  convict  the  universe  of  folly  as  incred- 
ibly stupid  as  it  would  be  wantonly  cruel. 
It  cannot  be! 

Therefore  to  whom  turn  I  but  to  thee,  the  inef- 
fable Name? 
Builder  and  maker,  thou,  of  houses  not  made 

with  hands ! 
What,  have  fear  of  change  from  thee  who  art 

ever  the  same? 
Doubt  that  thy  power  can  fill  the  heart  that 

thy  power  expands? 
There  shall  never  be  one  lost  good!    What  was, 

shall  live  as  before; 
The  evil  is  null,  is  nought,  is  silence  implying 

sound ; 
What  was  good  shall  be  good,  with,  for  evil,  so 

much  good  more ; 

On  the  earth  the  broken  arcs ;  in  the  heaven,  a 
perfect  round. 


132 


REMARKS 

BY  PRESIDENT  SHANKLIN 

TENNYSON,  beginning  the  immortal  verses 
that  were  "In  Memoriam"  to  his  best  friend, 
made  invocation  to  the  divine  Jesus : 

Strong  Son  of  God,  immortal  Love, 

Whom  we,  that  have  not  seen  thy  face, 
By  faith,  and  faith  alone,  embrace, 

Believing  where  we  cannot  prove; 

We  have  but  faith :  we  cannot  know ; 

For  knowledge  is  of  things  we  see ; 

And  yet  we  trust  it  comes  from  thee, 
A  beam  in  darkness :  let  it  grow. 

So  we,  in  this  service,  which  is  a  rainbow, 
whose  background  has  been  many  tears  well- 
ing from  loving  hearts,  turn  in  faith  to  God, 
believing  where  we  cannot  prove. 

Why  is  it  that  every  one  who  knew  Pro- 
fessor Winchester  feels  poorer  to-day  in  that 
which  makes  the  true  worth  of  living- 
friendship?  That  his  loving  and  lovable 
nature  drew  those  who  knew  him  best  so 
close  to  him  that  it  seems  that  in  his  death 
something  was  riven  from  the  inmost  being 
133 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

of  each  of  us?  The  all-containing  and  all- 
including  quality  which  drew  other  lives  to 
his  was  cultured  Christian  character,  that 
reserve  force  which  acts  directly  by  presence 
and  without  means.  Character  was  the  foun- 
dation wall  on  which  the  graceful  superstruc- 
ture of  his  life  was  builded;  and,  although 
the  visible  presence  has  suddenly  faded  from 
view,  the  character  abides,  a  thing  of  beauty 
and  a  joy  forever. 

Emerson  says :  "This  [character]  is  a  nat- 
ural power,  like  light  and  heat,  and  all  na- 
ture cooperates  with  it.  The  reason  why  we 
feel  one  man's  presence,  and  do  not  feel  an- 
other's, is  as  simple  as  gravity.  Truth  is  the 
summit  of  being;  justice  is  the  application 
of  it  to  affairs.  All  individual  natures  stand 
in  a  scale,  according  to  the  purity  of  this  ele- 
ment in  them.  The  will  of  the  pure  runs 
down  from  them  into  other  natures,  as  water 
runs  down  from  a  higher  into  a  lower  vessel. 
This  natural  force  is  no  more  to  be  with- 
stood than  any  other  natural  force."  Hav- 
ing discovered  this  law,  we  are  able  to  un- 
derstand our  friend's  influence.  From  his 
childhood  he  stood  foursquare  to  every  wind 
that  blows,  adopting  as  his  the  maxim  that 
134 


FUNERAL 

questions  of  right  or  wrong  have  neither 
time  nor  place  nor  expediency.  This  moral 
capital  was  in  part  his  inheritance  from  his 
forefathers;  yet  he  consecrated  this  native 
goodness  in  the  years  of  his  youth  by  his 
personal  surrender  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
adding  to  the  instincts  of  his  boyhood  the 
quick  and  glad  response  to  "whatsoever 
things  are  true,  whatsoever  things  are  hon- 
est, whatsoever  things  are  just,  whatsoever 
things  are  pure,  whatsoever  things  are 
lovely,  whatsoever  things  are  of  good  re- 
port." 

It  was  this  power  of  personality  that  has 
made  Wesley  an' s  chair  of  English  literature 
famous  for  half  a  century.  This  is  clearly 
recognized  in  an  editorial  in  the  issue  of  the 
New  York  Evening  Post  of  yesterday, 
which  says:  "The  death  of  Professor  Caleb 
T.  Winchester,  professor  of  English  liter- 
ature at  Wesleyan,  removes  a  figure  of  the 
ideal  type  for  a  college  chair.  A  scholar  to 
his  finger  tips,  he  infused  life  into  learning." 
This  power  of  personality  may  be  difficult 
to  define ;  but  we  all  recognize  it,  and  when 
we  come  into  the  presence  of  it  we  instinc- 
tively pay  it  homage.  It  was  Professor 
135 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

Winchester's  teaching,  permeated  with  Win- 
chester, that  made  him  a  prince  among  schol- 
ars. This  personal  instinct  was  regnant  in 
everything  he  said  and  did.  He  brought  in 
himself  a  character  that  transmitted  truth  to 
his  students  and  older  friends,  and  collect- 
ing the  light  that  lies  above  the  stars,  laid 
it  in  clear  soft  rays  upon  their  daily  work 
and  life.  Twelve  college  generations  of 
Wesleyan  men  and  women  gathered  into  his 
open  heart  found  in  him  "an  image  of  high 
principle  and  feeling,"  the  exemplar  of  the 
fine  and  firm  things  for  which  Wesleyan 
stands.  They  saw  in  him  a  man  of  great 
capacity  and  of  uncommon  intensity  of 
mind,  who  awakened  in  them  higher  and  bet- 
ter aspirations.  They  felt  that  he  was  a 
man  to  whom  the  inner  life  was  a  reality,  to 
whom  the  absolute  good  was  his  good,  and 
truth  itself  the  gate  of  another  world.  I 
believe  that  it  will  be  thought  by  them  one 
of  the  greatest  blessings  of  their  lives  that 
in  youth  they  came  to  know  one  whose  force 
of  mind  was  so  inseparably  linked  with  a 
noble  character.  A  distinguished  alumnus 
of  Wesleyan,  now  rendering  notable  service 
in  a  distant  land,  in  answering  a  letter  where- 
136 


FUNERAL 

in  I  wrote  of  Professor  Winchester's  criti- 
cal illness,  replied:  "As  I  recall  all  that  he 
means  to  me,  my  heart  glows  with  pride.  I 
shall  never  think  of  my  days  at  Wesleyan 
without  thinking  of  him.  To  me  he  is  that 
ideal  gentleman  of  letters  that  New  Eng- 
land has  given  to  the  world,  a  gentleman  of 
letters  that  need  ask  no  favors  of  any  one, 
anywhere  in  the  wide  world.  His  teaching 
was  fine,  the  more  so  because  his  own  fine 
personality  was  in  his  voice  and  manner  as 
well  as  in  his  interpretations.  I  am  sure 
every  student  who  came  into  contact  with 
him  loved,  more  than  he  could  otherwise  have 
loved,  the  good  and  the  great  in  literature 
and  in  life." 

His  living  and  learning  and  working  were 
like  the  shining  of  a  star.  It  is  no  task  for 
stars  to  shine,  and  so  with  him  all  that  he  did 
seemed  easy,  as  if  it  were  but  the  natural 
and  spontaneous  utterance  of  what  he  was, 
the  effortless  radiance  of  a  nature  that  was 
made  to  gather  and  to  utter  light.  The  per- 
sonal charm  of  Professor  Winchester  in 
public  and  in  private  was  something  which 
everybody  felt  who  came  into  the  slightest 
association  with  him.  It  was  the  charm  of 
137 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

simple  truthfulness,  of  a  perfect  manliness, 
and  a  true  sympathy  with  all  forms  of 
healthy  human  action,  which  had  its  real  be- 
ing in  his  personality  itself.  He  had  the 
genius  to  be  loved,  the  genius  to  be  trusted, 
the  genius  to  be  listened  to — "the  blessed 
triad  that  must  keep  company  in  any  life  to 
make  it  winsome,  beautiful,  commanding, 
and  Christlike."  These  all  found  their  basal 
elements  in  his  personality,  and  they  so  in- 
terpenetrated each  other,  so  played  into  each 
other  and  were  so  harmoniously  blended, 
that  he  everywhere  won  both  love  and  admi- 
ration. 

The  loss  which  his  death  has  brought  to 
the  great  circle  of  Wesleyan  men  and  women 
and  to  Wesleyan  itself,  it  is  not  possible  to 
describe.  It  is  a  change  in  all  our  lives. 
When  some  men  die  it  is  as  if  you  had  lost 
your  pocket-knife  and  were  subject  to  con- 
stant inconvenience  until  you  could  get  an- 
other. Other  men's  going  is  like  the  vanish- 
ing of  a  great  mountain  from  the  landscape, 
and  the  outlook  on  life  is  changed  forever. 

Professor  Winchester's  life  was  like  a 
great  picture  full  of  glowing  color.  The 
canvas  on  which  it  was  painted  was  immense. 
138 


FUNERAL 

It  lighted  all  the  room  in  which  it  was  hung. 
It  warmed  the  chilliest  air.  It  made  and  it 
will  long  make  life  broader,  work  easier,  and 
simple  strength  and  courage  dearer  to  every 
Wesleyan  man  and  woman,  and  to  many 
others  in  Middletown  and  throughout  the 
world. 

The  heavens  will  still  be  bright  with  stars 
and  Wesleyan  men  to  come  will  never  miss 
the  radiance  which  they  never  saw,  but  for 
those  of  us  who  once  watched  for  his  light 
there  will  always  be  a  spot  of  special  dark- 
ness in  the  heavens  where  a  star  of  peculiar 
beauty  went  out  when  he  died. 

We  shall  think  of  him  as  in  the  presence 
of  God,  who  is  the  fountain  of  light  and  in 
whom  the  parts  of  knowledge  which  we  see 
through  a  glass  darkly  are  beheld  face  to 
face.  But  there  is  no  tongue  of  man  or  of 
angel  in  which  such  things  can  be  expressed. 
We  meditate  upon  the  infinite  possibilities  of 
that  fuller  life  and  are  silent. 


139 


MEETING 

OF  THE 

WESLEYAN  UNIVERSITY  CLUB 

OF  NEW  YORK 

MAY  8, 1920 


ADDRESS 

BY  CORNELIUS  ROACH  BERRIEN,  '96 

As  a  labor  of  love  it  should  not  be  diffi- 
cult to  pay  to  Professor  Winchester's  mem- 
ory a  tribute  of  grateful  affection,  but  when 
we  recall  all  that  Professor  Winchester  was 
to  us,  when  we  remember  the  exquisite  ap- 
propriateness with  which  he  was  wont  to 
express  himself,  it  is  anything  but  easy  to 
say  what  we  think  of  him  who  was  such  a 
master  of  expression  and  who  was  so  much 
more  than  that.  Yet,  the  impressions  of  him 
which  come  so  readily  to  my  mind  are  in  the 
minds  of  all  of  us,  and  we  may  well  seek  to 
give  to  them  such  expression  as  we  can. 

Everyone  who  has  studied  at  Wesleyan  in 
the  last  fifty  years  is  the  beneficiary  of  Pro- 
fessor Winchester's  life  and  work.  Those 
who  had  the  good  fortune  or  the  good  sense 
to  come  most  directly  in  contact  with  him  in 
the  classroom  or  elsewhere  are  to  be  envied, 
but  every  Wesleyan  alumnus  of  the  period 
to  which  I  refer  deserves  to  be  congratulated 
on  the  privilege  which  was  his  of  even  know- 
ing such  a  man. 

143 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

What  vision  is  it  that  the  memory  of  Pro- 
fessor Winchester  evokes?  We  see  the  liv- 
ing picture  of  a  great  scholar,  the  ripe  rich- 
ness of  whose  learning  was  blended  with  a 
serene  simplicity  that  gave  to  the  dullest  of 
us  at  least  a  hint  of  the  charm  which  can 
attach  to  scholarship.  He  was  perhaps  ex- 
traordinarily fortunate  in  the  selection  of 
the  field  in  which  he  worked,  for  he  appeared 
to  have  in  his  work  the  joy  which  is  the  re- 
ward of  the  creative  artist.  Although  Pro- 
fessor Winchester  had  to  accomplish  a  world 
of  routine  drudgery,  he  never  seemed  to  show 
weariness.  It  is  not  hard  to  imagine  how 
much  he  would  have  preferred  the  prepara- 
tion of  more  of  those  delightful  lectures  of 
his  to  the  duty  of  deciphering  the  illegible 
and,  I  fear,  usually  stupid  manuscripts  and 
examination  papers  submitted  to  him  by  his 
classes.  Only  the  interest  of  love  and  a 
splendid  ideal  held  steadily  in  view  could 
have  made  it  possible  for  him  to  bring  to  his 
pupils  and  to  his  public  audiences  the  fresh- 
ness and  zest  with  which  he  infused  all  his 
surveys  of  great  books,  great  authors,  great 
literature. 

The  humane  breadth  and  catholicity  of 
144 


NEW  YORK  ALUMNI  MEETING 

his  taste,  which  ranged  with  approval  from 
Chaucer  and  Shakespeare  to  Burke  and 
Burns,  from  Addison  and  Swift  to  Brown- 
ing and  Arnold,  gave  to  Professor  Win- 
chester's learning  that  graciousness,  so  far 
removed  from  weakness,  of  which  even  our 
crude  youthful  intelligence  was  aware.  We 
were  young  barbarians  at  play,  resisting 
the  intrusion  of  new  ideas,  but  even  we  came 
under  the  spell  of  Professor  Winchester's 
gentle,  quiet,  scholarly  force,  and  in  later 
years  we  perceived  better  the  significance  of 
a  culture  which  did  not  hold  itself  aloof  from 
mankind,  which  ennobled  the  conceptions  of 
life  for  us  all.  There  has  been  at  Wesleyan 
scholarship  as  profound  as  that  of  Profes- 
sor Winchester,  scholarship  perhaps  as 
broad,  but  none  more  gracious  or  more  win- 
ning; none  that  lent  to  study  more  allure; 
none  more  liberal;  none  that  gave  to  life 
more  meaning. 

In  memory  also  we  see  Professor  Win- 
chester as  a  great  teacher,  but  I  would  speak 
of  his  teaching  as  characterized  not  so  much 
by  understanding  as  by  comprehension,  a 
word  of  more  obvious  breadth.  Only  a  great 
teacher  could  have  been  so  tolerant  of  the 
145 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

ignorance  which  he  encountered.  He  taught 
by  the  way  of  persuasion  and  not  by  the  way 
of  argument;  by  definition  rather  than  by 
declaration;  by  example  far  more  than  by 
precept.  He  ignored  the  base  and  selected 
the  good.  With  an  extraordinary  innate 
sense  of  what  is  best  in  man,  his  critical  taste 
developed  steadily,  but  I  believe  that  he 
was  as  trustworthy  a  guide  in  the  teaching 
of  his  earlier  days  as  he  was  in  his  later  life. 
His  taste  became  more  informed  and  his 
comprehension  grew,  but  what  a  graduate  of 
the  'nineties  can  say  of  him  could  also  be  said 
by  the  graduate  of  the  'seventies  or  of  the 
present  century — that  always  he  inspired  a 
love  for  great  literature. 

His  methods  were  remote  from  the  meth- 
ods of  the  laboratory,  to  which  indeed  they 
formed  an  admirable  balance,  albeit  they 
were  the  methods  of  constructive  critical 
analysis.  Who  is  there  who  sat  under  him 
in  whose  remembrance  there  do  not  sur- 
vive some  fragments  of  the  fine  passages  of 
prose  and  poetry  which  he  induced  us  to 
memorize  because  they  were  criteria  of  the 
best  in  English  literature?  His  methods 
both  imparted  information  for  the  erection 
146 


NEW  YORK  ALUMNI  MEETING 

of  standards  of  appreciation  and  trained  the 
mind  in  processes  of  thought  and  judgment. 
It  was  Professor  Winchester,  I  fancy, 
from  whom  most  of  us  first  learned  that  to 
read  was  to  think.  We  came  to  college  more 
or  less  instructed  in  habits  of  study  when 
text-books  were  put  before  us  and  when  we 
were  led  to  lectures  of  which  we  were  sup- 
posed to  take  notes.  Reading,  however,  is 
probably  for  the  average  youthful  mind 
mere  reading,  an  exercise  somewhat  resem- 
bling the  vacant  contemplation  of  the  pic- 
tures thrown  on  the  screen  in  that  triumph 
of  civilized  progress,  that  perverter  of  taste 
and  enfeebler  of  intellect,  called  "the  mov- 
ies." Under  Professor  Winchester  we  dis- 
covered what  it  was  to  read  with  apprecia- 
tion because  he  taught  us  to  get  at  the  con- 
tent of  language.  We  learned  from  him 
what  a  vehicle  our  language  is  for  the  ex- 
pression of  thought  and  for  the  communica- 
tion of  feeling.  Imperfectly  and  according 
to  our  inferior  abilities,  we  learned  from  him 
none  the  less  that  there  was  no  thought  which 
could  not  be  imparted  and  no  emotion  which 
could  not  be  conveyed  in  fit  words  fitly 
chosen. 

147 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

By  the  felicitous  quality  of  his  own  ut- 
terances he  seemed  to  make  thought  easy 
while  teaching,  often  to  our  despair,  that 
there  could  be  no  close  thinking  without  the 
right  use  of  the  right  words  in  which  to  ex- 
press thought.  Like  every  great  scholar  and 
great  teacher  he  sought  the  truth,  and  he 
taught  that  truth  cannot  be  told  except  by 
an  understanding  speaker  who  is  addressing 
an  understanding  hearer.  He  did  none  of 
the  easy  writing  which  makes  hard  reading. 
He  never  had  to  talk  down  to  his  audiences, 
whether  in  the  college  classroom  or  the 
public  lecture  hall,  because  he  always  ac- 
quired conscientious  mastery  of  the  thought 
which  he  wanted  to  convey,  and  because  he 
took  an  artist's  care  to  select  the  words  in 
which  to  utter  his  thought.  By  his  shrewd 
contrasts  of  the  shades  of  meaning  in  spoken 
and  written  language  he  taught  how  possible 
it  was  to  think  closely ;  how  impossible  it  was, 
without  regard  to  verbal  shades  of  meaning, 
really  to  think  at  all.  In  teaching,  by  dem- 
onstration, how  well  adapted  the  English 
language  is  for  the  expression  of  thought, 
he  taught  us  also  the  nobility  of  our  Eng- 
lish speech  as  a  medium  for  the  study  and 
148 


NEW  YORK  ALUMNI  MEETING 

exchange  of  that  truth  lying  on  the  border- 
land of  thought  which  we  call  emotion. 

How  much  of  the  charm  of  his  scholarship 
and  the  graciousness  of  his  teaching  was  ow- 
ing to  his  ideal  of  truth  as  beauty  and  beauty 
as  truth  we  cannot  say.  We  know  that  in 
his  company  we  frequently  caught  a  gleam 
of  the  "fugitive  and  gracious  light,"  of  that 
spirit  "whose  dwelling  is  the  light  of  setting 
suns."  In  the  end,  it  was  always  spiritual 
truth  which  he  discerned  and  which  he  tried 
to  help  us  descry,  which,  indeed,  he  helped  us 
faintly  to  behold.  That  gleam,  once  caught, 
who  of  us  has  altogether  lost? 

Appealing  to  memory  again,  what  is  our 
recollection  of  Professor  Winchester  as  an 
alumnus  of  Wesleyan?  Let  the  answer 
come  from  his  wonderful  record  of  a  half- 
century  of  devotion  which  attests  his  loyalty 
to  the  college.  Such  a  representation  of  loy- 
alty a  few  others  have  been.  Need  I  speak 
of  Professor  Van  Vleck  and  Professor  Rice? 
Professor  Winchester  was  their  contempo- 
rary and  their  peer,  the  exemplar  of  a  dedi- 
cation to  useful  service  wholly  devoid  of  self- 
seeking,  which  is  Wesleyan's  proudest 
achievement.  As  scholar,  as  teacher,  as 
149 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

alumnus,  as  man,  we  see  in  Professor  Win- 
chester the  ideal  product  of  our  college.  In 
his  own  person  he  was  a  standard  of  man- 
hood to  which  we  all  may  repair  in  our  mo- 
ments of  weakness  and  discouragement,  of 
humiliation  and  frustration.  How  many- 
sided  he  was ! 

He  was  an  exponent  of  the  charm  of  the 
academic  life,  yet  his  manner  ranked  him  an 
equal  in  any  company  of  those  who  had 
gained  distinction  in  the  world  of  affairs. 
He  was  gracious,  without  condescension,  in 
the  classroom  or  outside  of  it.  He  was  dis- 
tinguished by  a  humorous  urbanity  which 
encompassed  the  seriousness  of  life.  He 
had  a  sweet  reasonableness  that  could  only 
have  welled  up  from  deep  springs  of  the 
spirit.  Among  his  students  and  with  all  his 
associates  he  bore  an  air  of  gentle  dignity 
without  stiffness  or  restraint.  He  affected 
no  interest  which  he  did  not  feel,  and  there 
was  no  patronizing  tinge  in  the  sympathies 
which  he  manifested.  The  breadth  of  his 
comprehension  left  large  room  for  difference 
of  opinion  and  in  lines  of  action,  but  in  the 
scope  of  his  charity  there  was  no  room  for 
compromise  with  principle  or  for  concession 
150 


NEW  YORK  ALUMNI  MEETING 

of  right.  We  have  often  talked  among  our- 
selves of  the  values  which  inhere  in  a  liberal 
education,  and  Caleb  Thomas  Winchester 
as  scholar,  teacher,  alumnus,  and  man  was 
a  memorable  illustration  of  the  meaning  of 
a  course  in  the  humanities.  He  was  a  scholar 
and  a  gentleman. 

Professor  Winchester  summed  up  so  well 
in  himself  and  in  his  career  that  which  is  the 
ideal  of  Wesleyan;  he  was  so  supreme  an 
embodiment  of  the  best  that  Wesleyan  can 
produce;  the  lovable  nobility,  dignity,  loy- 
alty, charity,  and  integrity  of  his  character, 
and  the  sweetness  and  light  of  his  scholar- 
ship have  been  so  wrought  into  the  most 
precious  traditions  of  Wesleyan  that,  if  the 
time  comes  when  it  is  decided  to  change  the 
name  of  our  college,  we  would  do  well  to 
reach  an  agreement  on  the  name  of  "Win- 
chester," and  in  the  memory  of  her  own  son 
commemorate  and  exalt  forever  the  ideals 
for  which  the  college  stands. 


151 


WESLEYAN  UNIVERSITY 
SERVICE  IN  MEMORY 

OF 

PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 
SUNDAY,  MAY  16,  1920 


PROGRAM 

HYMN  :  "0  God,  our  help  in  ages  past."        Watts 
PRAYER:  PROFESSOR  RICE 

PSALTER  :  Psalm  90. 
SCRIPTURE:  Isa.  40,  1-12,  29-31. 
SOLO:  MRS.  PAUL  BURT 

"Come  let  us  join  our  friends  above."  Wesley 
INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS  :  PRESIDENT  SHANKLIN 
HYMN: 

"The  Lord  our  God  alone  is  strong."     Winchester 

MEMORIAL  ADDRESS:       STOCKTON  AXSON,  L.H.D. 

Professor  of  English,  Rice  Institute, 

Houston,  Texas 
HYMN: 

"For  all  the  saints,  who  from  their  labors  rest." 

How 
BENEDICTION:  PRESIDENT  SHANKLIN 


155 


PRAYER 

BY  PROFESSOR  RICE 

"ALMIGHTY  GOD',  with  whom  do  live  the 
spirits  of  those  who  depart  hence  in  the 
Lord,  and  with  whom  the  souls  of  the  faith- 
ful, after  they  are  delivered  from  the  burden 
of  the  flesh,  are  in  joy  and  felicity;  we  give 
thee  hearty  thanks  for  the  good  examples  of 
all  those  thy  servants,  who,  having  finished 
their  course  in  faith,  do  now  rest  from  their 
labors.  And  we  beseech  thee,  that  we,  with 
all  those  who  are  departed  in  the  true  faith 
of  thy  holy  name,  may  have  our  perfect  con- 
summation and  bliss,  both  in  body  and  soul, 
in  thy  eternal  and  everlasting  glory." 

We  praise  thee  for  the  life  of  him  who  for 
the  past  half -century  has  borne  so  large  a 
part  in  the  work  of  this  college.  We  praise 
thee  for  the  great  gifts  with  which  thou  didst 
endow  him;  for  his  loving  appreciation  of 
the  beautiful  in  life  and  in  literature,  for  his 
sanity  of  thought  and  sound  critical  judg- 
ment, for  the  breadth  and  accuracy  of  his 
knowledge,  and  for  his  gift  of  eloquent  ex- 
157 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

pression  through  the  spoken  and  the  written 
word.  We  praise  thee  for  the  consecration 
of  all  his  powers  to  the  service  of  truth  and 
righteousness.  We  praise  thee  that  in  the 
dawn  of  manhood  he  gave  himself  up  to  that 
service  which  is  perfect  freedom.  We  praise 
thee  for  his  fidelity  to  all  professional  duty 
and  to  all  the  obligations  of  love  and  friend- 
ship; for  his  loyalty  to  this  college,  his 
mother  and  ours.  We  praise  thee  for  the 
influence  which  his  words  of  sweetness  and 
light  have  had  on  successive  classes  of  stu- 
dents and  upon  readers  of  his  writings.  We 
praise  thee  for  the  memory  of  a  life  of  high 
purpose,  of  patient  work,  and  of  noble 
achievement.  We  praise  thee  for  the  faith 
which  was  his  and  which  is  ours,  that  beyond 
the  mystery  of  death  lies  the  glory  of  a  bet- 
ter life.  We  praise  thee  for  the  risen  Lord, 
and  for  the  Father's  house  with  its  many 
mansions. 

We  pray  that  those  who  were  nearest  and 
dearest  to  him,  and  who  are  most  sorely  be- 
reaved, may  find  comfort  in  the  faith  which 
he  cherished.  We  pray  that  all  our  lives  may 
be  made  nobler  by  his  words  and  by  his  ex- 
ample. We  pray  that  the  college  which  he 
158 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

loved  may  never  lack  great  teachers  of  truth 
and  righteousness.  We  pray  that  the  whole 
church  militant  on  earth  may  gain  continual 
inspiration  from  the  great  memory  of  the 
ever  growing  host  of  saints  now  triumphant 
in  heaven. 

"Our  Father,  who  art  in  heaven,  hallowed 
be  thy  name.  Thy  kingdom  come.  Thy 
will  be  done  on  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven.  Give 
us  this  day  our  daily  bread.  And  forgive  us 
our  trespasses,  as  we  forgive  those  who  tres- 
pass against  us.  And  lead  us  not  into  temp- 
tation, but  deliver  us  from  evil:  for  thine  is 
the  kingdom,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory, 
forever.  Amen." 


159 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESS 

BY  PROFESSOR  AXSON 

WE  are  met  to  commemorate  a  life,  a 
beautiful  life,  extensive  in  influence,  unusu- 
ally complete  in  accomplishment. 

The  relatives  of  Professor  Winchester, 
and  we  who  were  privileged  to  be  his  friends, 
and  we  who  are  his  disciples  in  the  teaching 
profession, 

We  that  have  loved  him  so,  followed  him,  hon- 
ored him, 

Lived  in  his  mild  and  magnificent  eye, 
Learned  his  great  language,   caught  his   clear 
accents, x 

we,  in  our  hearts,  must  mourn  his  death.  It 
would  prove  us  insensible  to  the  endearing 
human  quality  of  him  if  we  were  not  sad- 
dened by  the  reflection  that  we  shall  hear  his 
voice  no  more,  nor  ever  again  behold  him  in 
his  simple  human  kindness  and  grave  and 
gracious  dignity. 

But  I  must  think  that  we  shall  honor  him 
most  fittingly  by  tempering  sorrow  with 
gratitude ;  by  thinking  more  of  what  we  have 
160 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

had  in  his  life  than  of  what  we  have  lost 
through  his  death ;  by  gratitude,  for  our  own 
sakes  and  the  world's  sake,  that  he  was  per- 
mitted to  live  so  long,  and  by  gratitude,  for 
his  sake,  that  he  was  permitted  to  go  before 
he  had  long  outlived  his  usefulness,  after 
only  a  comparatively  short  interval  of  ill- 
ness. He  himself  wrote  that  Wordsworth's 
closing  years  were  "years  of  the  high  seren- 
ity that  should  fitly  close  such  a  life  as  his. 
There  was  no  long  period  of  wasting 
strength  and  declining  mental  power."  As 
he  penned  the  words  we  may  imagine  a  little 
prayer  in  his  heart  that  his  own  end  might 
be  like  that. 

I  think  he  dreaded  superannuation.  In 
a  letter  to  me  a  few  years  ago,  he  expressed, 
in  the  words  of  Doctor  Johnson,  the  wish 
not  to  "lag  superfluous  on  the  stage."  Dur- 
ing the  last  academic  year  Professor  Win- 
chester was  in  full  possession  of  his  powers, 
in  full  expression  of  his  usefulness,  busily 
teaching  his  classes  in  Wesleyan,  renewing 
his  old  enthusiasm  for  Burke  and  Emerson, 
saying  at  the  dinner  given  in  his  honor  last 
June:  "I  never  felt  so  strongly  as  this  year 
the  need  of  more  history  and  political  science 
161 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

to  appreciate  Burke,  or  more  philosophy  to 
appreciate  Emerson." 

How  unjaded,  how  splendid  that  is!  For 
this  teacher  there  was  no  twilight,  no  listless 
"going  through  the  motions"  of  an  old  rou- 
tine, no  fading  of  old  ardors,  no  dwindling 
echoes  of  old  enthusiasms.  He  was  spared 
the  tribute  which  men's  memories  pay  to  the 
vigor  of  the  past  in  contrast  with  the  lapsed 
energies  of  the  present.  At  seventy-two  he 
was  teaching  as  I  know  from  experience  he 
taught  at  forty-two — vividly  alive  to  the 
many  avenues,  prospects,  and  perspectives 
which  radiate  from  every  great  literary  topic, 
aware,  not  in  dejection,  but  in  stimulated 
effort,  of  "the  petty  done,  the  undone  vast," 
spurred  on  to  learn  more  because  there  is  so 
much  to  learn,  to  teach  more  because  there 
is  so  much  worth  teaching. 

His  own  life  and  his  life's  work  illustrated 
a  remark  which  he  made  at  that  same  com- 
memoration dinner  last  June,  "Nothing 
keeps  the  heart  young  like  really  great  liter- 
ature." Until  his  fatal  illness  he  retained 
that  youthfulness  which  is  unrelated  to 
years,  whose  continually  renewing  sources 
are  in  noble  enthusiasms,  unfatigued  intel- 
162 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

lectual  interests,  and  consciousness  of  con- 
tinuing, unabated  usefulness. 

Robert  Louis  Stevenson,  speaking  of  life 
filled  with  work  and  purpose  and  unwearied 
enthusiasm,  all  sustained  up  to  the  hour  of 
departure  from  life's  workshop,  said: 

When  the  Greeks  made  their  fine  saying  that 
those  whom  the  gods  love  die  young,  I  cannot  help 
believing  they  had  this  sort  of  death  also  in  their 
eye.  For  surely,  at  whatever  age  it  overtake  the 
man,  this  is  to  die  young.  Death  has  not  been 
suffered  to  take  so  much  as  an  illusion  from  his 
heart.  .  .  .  The  noise  of  the  mallet  and  chisel  is 
scarcely  quenched,  the  trumpets  are  hardly  done 
blowing,  when,  trailing  with  him  clouds  of  glory, 
this  happy-starred,  full-blooded  spirit  shoots  into 
the  spiritual  land. 

That  famous  utterance  applies  to  Professor 
Winchester,  who  at  seventy-three  died 
young.  Thankful  are  we  who  loved  him  for 
that. 

Thankful  also  that,  before  his  departure, 
he  was  compelled  to  sit  quietly,  all  one  eve- 
ning, among  his  admirers,  and  listen,  while 
some  of  them,  speaking  for  all,  told  him  why 
he  was  respected  and  loved :  his  old  comrade 
of  the  faculty,  Professor  Rice ;  his  associate 
163 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

for  nearly  thirty  years  in  the  English  de- 
partment of  Wesleyan,  Professor  Mead ;  his 
fellow-craftsman  from  the  English  depart- 
ment of  a  great  sister  university,  Professor 
Cross ;  his  old  student,  Professor  Gibbs,  who 
testifies  to  the  value  of  what  he  learned  from 
Professor  Winchester  by  practising  it  in  the 
English  departments  of  other  colleges.  Pro- 
foundly thankful  are  we  that  Professor 
Winchester  was  spared  to  serve  Wesleyan 
for  fifty  years,  thankful  for  all  reasons,  in- 
cluding this,  which  he  himself  might  per- 
haps have  called  a  minor  reason,  that  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  created  a  natural  oppor- 
tunity for  men,  without  offense,  to  stand  up 
and  tell  this  most  modest  of  men  what  they 
thought  of  him  and  why  they  thought  it, 
what  they  felt  for  him  and  why  they  felt  it. 
To-day,  when  we  are  met,  no  longer  in 
his  presence,  to  commune  with  each  other  in 
his  memory,  seems  a  fitting  occasion  to  at- 
tempt, however  imperfectly,  some  estimate 
of  the  significance  of  his  life's  work,  some 
valuation  of  his  achievements  as  teacher, 
public  lecturer,  critic,  and  man  of  letters. 
My  estimate  must  necessarily  be  personal, 
though  I  hope  none  the  less  just,  for  I  was 
164 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

one  of  scores  of  younger  teachers  whom  he 
directed,  one  of  thousands  of  Wesleyan  stu- 
dents whom  he  inspired.  He  has  meant 
much  to  me  personally,  still  means  much, 
will  always  mean  much  until  the  time  arrives 
for  me  to  follow  him.  My  recollections  of 
him  inevitably  involve  another,  for  from  the 
outset  there  was  a  triple  rather  than  a  double 
association,  himself,  myself,  and  President 
Wilson. 

It  was  from  President  Wilson  that  I  first 
heard  Professor  Winchester's  name.  I  was 
an  undergraduate  in  the  University  of 
Georgia;  Dr.  Wilson  was  in  the  first  year 
of  his  membership  in  the  Wesleyan  faculty, 
with  a  high  regard  for  the  teaching  profes- 
sion, in  general,  and  for  the  Wesleyan  fac- 
ulty, in  particular ;  in  the  subsequent  chang- 
ing years  he  frequently  remarked  that  there 
was  less  "dead  wood"  in  the  Wesleyan  fac- 
ulty than  in  any  other  faculty  he  had  known. 
He  wrote  me  a  letter  saying  that  he  had  an 
inkling  that  I  could  be  made  into  a  service- 
able teacher  of  English,  and  suggested  that 
I  come  to  Wesleyan  and  study  under  "the 
foremost  teacher  of  English  literature  in 
America." 

165 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

After  a  year's  residence  and  graduation 
from  Wesley  an  I  went  to  Johns  Hopkins 
University — it  was  1890,  the  year  Dr.  Wil- 
son transferred  his  services  to  the  Princeton 
faculty.  He  sent  me  to  President  Gilman 
with  a  letter  of  introduction,  in  which  he 
stated  that  I  was  entering  Hopkins  for  grad- 
uate study  of  English,  after  a  year  of  study 
with — substantially  repeating  his  former 
phrase — "the  foremost  teacher  of  English 
literature  in  America." 

The  following  spring,  1891,  President 
Gilman  invited  Professor  Winchester  to 
deliver  a  series  of  lectures  at  Johns  Hopkins, 
afterward  telling  Mr.  Wilson  that  the 
phrase  in  the  letter  of  introduction  had 
prompted  the  invitation,  saying  he  thought 
Johns  Hopkins  University  was  entitled  to 
hear  from  "the  foremost  teacher  of  English 
literature  in  America,"  and  adding  that  Pro- 
fessor Winchester  had  justified  Dr.  Wil- 
son's estimate. 

Professor  Winchester's  Hopkins  lectures 
were  a  brilliant  academic  and  popular  suc- 
cess. They  followed  a  series  of  lectures  by 
a  distinguished  American  poet  of  that  day, 
whose  coming  had  been  widely  heralded. 
166 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

Professor  Winchester  slipped  among  us  with 
but  slight  preliminary  announcement.  It 
is  with  no  motive  of  invidious  comparison, 
but  to  elucidate  a  significant  point  about 
Professor  Winchester,  that  I  recall  the  cir- 
cumstance that  the  famous  poet's  audiences 
began  large  and  ended  small,  and  Professor 
Winchester's  audiences  began  small  and 
ended  large. 

This  is  no  reflection  on  the  poet-critic, 
whose  personality  was  delightful,  and  who 
had  many  important  things  to  tell  us,  but 
who  was  not  a  professional  lecturer  and 
probably  had  never  surmised  that  public 
lecturing  is  a  profession  in  itself — is  an  art, 
and  a  delicate  art.  The  poet-critic  knew 
much  about  a  number  of  arts,  but  nothing 
whatever  about  the  particular  art  he  was 
undertaking  to  practise  before  us,  the  art 
of  public  lecturing.  The  result  was  inevi- 
table :  the  general  public  flocked  to  the  open- 
ing lecture,  satisfied  their  curiosity  to  see 
the  famous  man,  and  did  not  return.  The 
audiences  steadily  diminished  until  at  the 
end  they  were  made  up  chiefly  of  those  of  us 
who  were  professionally  interested,  who  real- 
ized that  the  lecturer  was  expounding  some 
167 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

important  aesthetic  doctrines,  and  who 
needed  no  other  lure  to  hold  us.  Professor 
Winchester,  with  an  equal  amount  of  solid 
information,  began  with  small  professionally 
interested  audiences,  but  the  fame  of  him  got 
abroad  and  the  general  public  came  each  day 
in  increasing  numbers,  until  at  the  end  of  the 
course  there  was  not  even  standing  room  in 
the  lecture  chamber. 

I  do  not  need  to  tell  this  company  that 
Professor  Winchester  resorted  to  none  of 
the  tricks  by  which  some  popular  lecturers 
attract  the  crowd.  The  very  artist  that  was 
in  him,  that  made  the  lectures  so  excellent, 
would  have  abhorred  mountebankish  tricks 
as  Hamlet's  imagination  abhorred  the  jes- 
ter's fleshless  skull.  The  secret  of  his  power 
was  this :  that  he  interpreted  the  great  art  of 
literature  by  methods  themselves  artistic, 
that  he  understood  that  he  could  not  engage 
the  emotional  sympathy  of  an  audience  by 
merely  telling  them  that  literature  is  beau- 
tiful and  worthy  of  their  sympathies,  but 
only  by  showing  them  the  beauty,  that  he 
understood  that  if  he  was  going  to  give  him- 
self the  trouble  of  lecturing,  he  must  give 
himself  the  additional  trouble  of  mastering 
168 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

the  arts  of  the  lecturer:  the  art  of  fascinating 
literary  composition,  the  art  of  sympathetic, 
impressive  delivery. 

His  voice  is  hushed  now,  and  we  can  never 
again  be  reminded,  except  in  memory,  of  the 
charm  of  his  delivery:  the  low  expressive 
tones,  the  manner  so  quiet,  yet  so  compel- 
ling. His  sympathetic  rendering  of  illus- 
trative passages  of  poetry  was  better  than 
all  the  conspicuous  art  of  the  professional 
elocutionists.  Indeed,  Professor  Winches- 
ter's art  of  reading  was,  perhaps  uncon- 
sciously, the  art  of  the  great  actor,  who  re- 
creates in  his  own  mind  the  thought  of  his 
poet,  rekindles  in  his  own  breast  the  poet's 
emotion,  and  therefore  utters  the  poet's  lines 
as  if  they  expressed  his  own  spontaneous 
thought  and  present  emotion. 

As  all  of  you  remember,  Professor  Win- 
chester's platform  manner  was  very  quiet. 
He  read  verbatim  from  the  cleanly  written 
manuscript  (his  penmanship  was  clear  and 
controlled,  like  his  character;  neat,  like  his 
habits,  mental  and  personal) .  I  never  knew 
a  speaker  who  could  at  one  and  the  same 
time  read  so  closely  and  give  his  audiences 
such  intimate  impression  that  he  was  talking 
169 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

directly  to  them.  He  lectured  for  us  in 
Princeton  on  Matthew  Arnold,  and  one  of 
his  delighted  auditors,  a  member  of  our  Eng- 
lish department,  told  me  he  had  not  known 
that  Professor  Winchester  had  used  a  man- 
uscript until  some  one  subsequently  men- 
tioned the  fact.  It  is  a  fine  art  to  utter  the 
written  word  as  if  it  were  being  thought  for 
the  first  time  while  the  lecturer  stands  be- 
fore his  audience. 

I  am  under  the  impression  that  Emerson 
employed  this  method — Emerson,  some  of 
whose  books  were,  like  some  of  Professor 
Winchester's  books,  printed  lectures.  The 
advantage  of  the  method  for  the  truly  lit- 
erary lecturer,  the  man  of  letters  on  the  plat- 
form, is  obvious.  Nobody  can  create  pure 
literature  extemporaneously,  and  yet  Pro- 
fessor Winchester,  like  Emerson,  evidently 
believed  that  a  lecture  on  literature  should 
itself  be  literature.  So  in  his  study  he  care- 
fully wrote  down  all  the  words  on  the  page, 
and  then  stepped  on  the  platform  and  read 
them  as  if  they  had  never  been  written  at  all. 
This  combination  of  literary  finish  and  spon- 
taneity makes  the  perfect  literary  lecture. 

Professor  Winchester  had  the  judgment 
170 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

and  tact  not  to  "talk  down"  to  his  audiences. 
Talk  "over  them"  he  must  not,  talk  "down 
to  them"  he  would  not.  He  had  that  faith  in 
his  public  without  which  no  one  can  be  a 
great  lecturer,  or  a  great  preacher,  or  a 
really  great  political  orator.  Professor  Win- 
chester evidently  believed  that  the  public 
could  take  his  best  provided  he  should  take 
the  trouble  to  present  it  attractively  and 
convincingly. 

At  the  commemoration  dinner,  Professor 
Rice  explained  interestingly  why  literary 
lectures  of  the  Winchester  type  appeal  to 
men  of  science  more  than  do  philological 
disquisitions.  Professor  Rice  said  that 
men,  "trained  to  minute  accuracy  of  obser- 
vation and  cautious  induction,"  occasionally 
attend  a  literary  lecture  for  "recreation  or 
inspiration" ;  he  added  that  Professor  Win- 
chester's lectures  gave  them  what  they 
sought,  and  furthermore  added  that  what 
always  most  impressed  him  in  those  lectures 
was  "the  harmonious  union  of  delicacy  of 
sentiment  and  strong  common  sense." 

I  fancy  that  the  type  described  by  Pro- 
fessor Rice,  a  type  which  he  himself  has  so 
long  represented  with  so  much  distinction, 
171 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

demands  of  the  literary  lecturer  sound  men- 
tal processes  and  valid  conclusions  from  his 
data,  even  though  the  data  are  non-scien- 
tific. And  I  venture  to  think  that  Profes- 
sor Rice  would  say  that  Professor  Winches- 
ter met  these  requirements.  For  instance, 
the  premises  of  the  Principles  of  Literary 
Criticism  are,  in  their  nature,  insusceptible 
of  proof,  but  the  reasoning  from  them  is 
close,  and  the  conclusions  are  consistent,  and 
cautiously  stated.  I  suspect  that  the  man  of 
science  would  be  impatient  with  a  critic  of 
the  type  of  Swinburne,  who  throws  the  reins 
on  the  neck  of  imagination  and  stampedes 
reason,  whose  adjectives  are  nearly  all  su- 
perlatives, whose  self-contradictions  are  both 
bland  and  violent,  of  whose  discretion  we  are 
reminded  merely  by  the  fact  that  it  is  never 
present. 

Professor  Winchester's  mind  was  closely 
analytical.  He  abhorred  emotionalism, 
shrank  from  sentimentalism  with  an  Em- 
ersonian fastidiousness.  He  and  Emer- 
son were  fine  examples  of  the  poised  New 
England  character,  with  capacity  for  deep- 
est feeling,  and  aversion  to  demonstration. 
In  the  essay  on  Leigh  Hunt,  Professor  Win- 
172 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

Chester  wrote,  "The  truth  is,  sentimentalism 
is  always  vulgar" ;  in  the  Principles  of  Lat- 
er ary  Criticism,  he  wrote,  "The  sentimental- 
ist, the  aesthete,  the  fanatic,  are  proverbially 
deformed  types  of  character";  and  at  the 
commemoration  dinner  he  said,  "No  really 
good  literature,  I  think,  was  ever  born  of 
merely  aesthetic  impulse."  These  are  ex- 
pressions of  a  fixed  conviction. 

On  the  other  hand,  no  man  had  a  sounder 
understanding  of  the  barrenness  of  mere 
intelligence  in  the  realm  of  things  human,  or 
a  clearer  perception  of  the  limitations  of 
mere  logic  in  the  realm  of  things  eternal.  In 
his  Life  of  John  Wesley  he  criticizes  Wesley 
for  sometimes  seeming  to  forget  "that  on 
most  matters  of  importance  our  conclusions 
are  not  the  result  of  a  single  line  of  argu- 
ment, but  the  resultant  of  many  lines;  nay, 
in  many  cases,  cannot  be  decided  exclusively 
by  argument,  but  rather  by  sentiment  or 
instinct."  In  the  Principles  of  Literary 
Criticism  he  discusses,  in  full  value,  "the  in- 
tellectual element  in  literature,"  but  con- 
cludes that  "the  essential  element  in  litera- 
ture is  the  power  to  appeal  to  the  emotions." 
He  always  gave  the  impression  of  strength 
173 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

in  reserve,  because  of  his  strong  feeling  un- 
der firm  control.  Intellect  and  emotion,  rea- 
son and  imagination  were  poised  in  him; 
there  was  an  harmonious  proportion  of 
qualities,  remindful  of  the  Greek  character, 
suggesting  something  out  of  Plutarch. 

Because  he  could  think  straight  while  feel- 
ing deeply,  he  was  able  to  appreciate  truly 
and  interpret  soundly.  Balanced  by  nature, 
trained  by  education,  he  conferred  great  ben- 
efits on  cultural  education  in  America  by 
teaching  younger  people  to  think  while  feel- 
ing, and  feel  while  thinking;  to  avoid,  on  the 
one  side,  the  miry  marshes  of  mere  aestheti- 
cism,  on  the  other  side,  the  hard  rocks  of  cold 
intellectualism. 

Fortunate  was  it  for  English  literary  edu- 
cation in  America  that  the  pioneers  and 
pathfinders  were  men  who,  like  Professor 
Winchester,  had  been  soundly  trained  by 
systematic  educational  methods.  At  the 
commemoration  dinner,  Dean  Cross  named 
four  of  these  pioneers,  and,  on  reflection,  his 
list  seems  complete:  "Child  of  Harvard, 
Lounsbury  and  Beers  of  Yale,  and  Win- 
chester of  Wesleyan" — a  goodly  company. 
Prior  to  these,  poets  like  Longfellow  and 
174 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

Lowell  had  tremendously  stimulated  liter- 
ary taste  in  the  classroom,  but  with  them 
the  teaching  profession  was  secondary,  not 
primary.  Rhetoricians  of  the  old  school  had 
applied  the  formal  principles  of  Quintilian 
to  selected  passages  of  English  literature, 
but  had  not  systematized  literary  study.  It 
was  the  small  group  named  by  Dean  Cross 
who  gave  the  historical  and  critical  study  of 
English  literature  its  recognized  position  in 
the  college  curriculum. 

Like  the  others,  Professor  Winchester 
had  to  make  his  own  methods,  which  he  did 
by  applying  to  new  material  a  mind  well 
trained  in  old  material — in  the  classics, 
Hebrew,  logic,  and  philosophy.  He  was  a 
scholar,  in  the  old  ripe  sense  of  the  term. 
He  wore  his  scholarship  so  easily,  so  mod- 
estly, that  the  depth  and  range  of  his  learn- 
ing might  readily  be  undiscerned  by  imma- 
ture and  superficial  people  who  associate 
"scholarship"  with  technicalities  and  jargon 
and  things  difficult  and  unimportant.  To 
the  point  is  the  old  anecdote  of  Dr.  Chalmers 
and  the  untutored  man  who  stopped  him  in 
the  street,  and  asked,  "Are  you  the  great  Dr. 
Chalmers?"  "I  am  Dr.  Chalmers,"  was  the 
175 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

modest  reply.  "Aye!"  said  the  stranger,  "I 
don't  think  you  are  great  either,  for  I  heard 
you  preach  last  Sunday,  and  I  understood 
everything  you  said."  In  true  greatness 
there  is  always  simplicity,  even  in  truly 
great  scholarship. 

The  primary  aim  of  Professor  Winches- 
ter's teaching  was  cultural.  Nowadays, 
English  departments  sometimes  propose 
what  are  called  "practical"  aims,  not  explic- 
itly recognized  by  him,  more  technical  stud- 
ies of  literature  combined  with  practice  for 
those  who  aspire  to  make  literature — not  the 
old  "composition  courses"  but  literary  prac- 
tice by  a  sort  of  "case  system."  Professor 
Winchester  would  give  private  assistance  to 
volunteer  aspirants,  but  the  aim  of  his  class- 
room was  interpretation  of  the  authors  of 
the  past  rather  than  creation  of  authors  for 
the  future ;  I  fancy  he  considered  the  latter 
a  by-product  of  the  former — the  results  "on 
the  knees  of  the  gods." 

He  was  a  teacher  born  and  trained, 
"nascitur  et  fit,"  as  Tennyson  used  to  say 
of  the  poet.  Stopford  Brooke's  Primer  of 
English  Literature  was  a  text-book  when  I 
was  in  Wesleyan.  When  I  say  that  Prof es- 
176 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

sor  Winchester  made  that  meager  manual 
interesting  to  undergraduates,  I  say  much — 
how  much,  I  know  from  experience,  from 
trying  to  use  it  with  my  own  classes  with  re- 
sults just  short  of  riot.  He  was  a  class  disci- 
plinarian— not  in  deportment,  which  was 
never  necessary;  his  mere  presence  brought 
respectful  order — but  he  practised  intellect- 
ual discipline  by  the  good  old  "quiz"  method. 
He  asked  definite  questions,  and  required 
definite  answers. 

I  recall  one  youth  who  had  gleaned  vague 
notions  about  William  Langland  from  a 
passage  in  Stopford  Brooke,  which  imaged 
Langland  grimly  striding  through  the  Lon- 
don Strand  mentally  rebuking  folly;  about 
all  that  stuck  in  the  student's  mind  was 
Strand,  and  that  "with  a  difference."  He 
stammered  some  futilities  about  Langland 
walking  on  the  "shore."  Quietly,  more  mem- 
orably than  by  sarcasm  (which  he  never  em- 
ployed), Professor  Winchester  said,  "Never 
mind  the  shore;  tell  us  what  you  know  of 
Langland,  if  anything." 

It  was  after  we  had  finished  floundering 
that  we  got  the  joy  of  the  exercise,  when  he 
began  his  own  exegesis  of  the  text,  clothing 
177 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

its  dry  bones  with  flesh,  and  breathing  life 
into  it ;  or  when  he  turned  to  the  actual  works 
of  the  authors  and  illuminated  them  by  anal- 
ysis, comment,  appraisement,  and  sympa- 
thetic reading. 

Even  in  my  callow  youth  I  admired  the 
ease  and  clarity  with  which  he  would  relate 
literature  to  history,  an  author  to  the  politi- 
cal and  social  forces  of  his  time.  In  the  Prin- 
ciples of  Literary  Criticism  he  says,  "litera- 
ture is  one  side  of  history,"  and,  in  reversal, 
he  used  to  show  us,  the  undergraduates,  that 
history  is  one  side  of  literature,  a  new 
thought  to  most  of  us,  who  began  to  learn 
from  our  study  of  Carlyle  more  about  the 
true  nature  of  the  democratic  reform  era  in 
England  than  we  had  learned  from  formal 
history. 

What  Professor  Winchester  said,  in  re- 
trospect, at  the  commemoration  dinner,  re- 
flected a  conviction  and  a  practice  of  many 
decades : 

If  you  want  to  understand  the  growth  of 
thought  and  accompanying  changes  of  feeling  on 
matters  of  scientific,  religious,  political,  and  social 
importance,  say,  in  England  from  1840  to  1880, 
you  must  read  Tennyson,  Browning,  Arnold, 

178 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

Carlyle.     You  will  find  there  the  best  record  of 
the  inner  life  of  the  period. 


In  the  class  room  he  used  the  historical 
method  illuminatingly,  and  at  the  same  time 
warned  us  of  its  perils  when  pushed  too  far, 
as  by  Taine  and  the  German  "zeitgeistists," 
if  I  may  use  the  term.  I  find  in  the  essay 
on  Hazlitt  a  characteristic  passage  on  the 
advantages  and  limitations  of  the  historical 
method,  its  uses  and  abuses. 

This  balanced  teaching  was,  what  all 
teaching  must  be,  an  index  to  the  mind  and 
character  of  the  teacher,  the  measure  of 
Professor  Winchester's  sanity,  of  what  Pro- 
fessor Rice  calls  his  "strong  common  sense." 
His  mind  was  simultaneously  judicial  and 
sympathetic — an  unusual  combination.  His 
tastes  were  catholic,  the  range  of  his  sym- 
pathies wide.  He  never  told  us  who  was  his 
"favorite  author."  I  guessed  Wordsworth, 
but  another  old  pupil,  writing  in  Zion's  Her- 
ald, guesses  Burns  (of  course,  Shakespeare 
is  nobody's  favorite  because  everybody's). 
Probably  he  had  no  favorite — there  was  so 
much  of  interest  in  so  many.  His  essay  on 
Leigh  Hunt  sheds  direct  light  on  Hunt,  and 
179 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

reflected  light  on  Winchester:  an  essentially 
purposeful,  ethical,  religious  man  doing  jus- 
tice to  and  showing  sympathy  with  an  essen- 
tial dilettante. 

His  mind  was  a  translucent  medium  for 
the  undistorted  interpretation  of  his  author. 
Sometimes  critics  seem  unconsciously  to  as- 
sume God's  mystery  and  recreate  all  things 
in  the  image  of  their  own  minds.  Even 
great  Goethe  does  not  escape  the  charge: 
his  famous  analysis  of  Hamlet  is  interesting, 
but  it  is  certainly  not  Shakespeare's  Hamlet 
of  whom  he  is  talking.  The  author  that 
passed  through  Professor  Winchester's 
mind  came  out  illumined,  not  transformed. 
Wide  sympathies  led  him  to  understand 
many;  an  obligation  to  truth  led  him  to  do 
strict  justice  to  all.  It  was  not  mere  kind- 
liness which  induced  him  to  recount  the  mer- 
its of  an  author  whose  weaknesses  he  had 
been  mercilessly  exposing.  It  was  some- 
thing more  virile,  respect  for  truth,  a  trait 
as  pronounced  in  him  as  in  the  man  of  sci- 
ence at  work  in  his  laboratory. 

It  is  a  tribute  to  the  teaching  genius  of 
Professor  Winchester  that  so  quiet  and  judi- 
cial a  man,  so  averse  to  asseveration,  and 
180 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

with  none  of  the  habits  of  the  propagandist, 
could  kindle  in  his  pupils  such  flaming  en- 
thusiasm for  literature  and  special  authors. 
A  practical  illustration  was  the  book-buying 
habits  of  undergraduates  of  my  day    (of 
course,    I   cannot    speak   of   later   times). 
Though  few  were  wealthy,  most  seemed  to 
feel  they  must  own,  often  at  a  sacrifice,  the 
works  of  the  masters  whom  Professor  Win- 
chester had  taught  them  to  love.     I  have 
never  known  undergraduates  who  purchased 
so  many  English  classics.    A  whimsical  illus- 
tration is  an  incident  of  my  undergraduate 
days,  dear  to  the  memory  of  President  Wil- 
son, who  has  frequently  referred  to  it  as  a 
militant  example  of  effective  teaching.     A 
lad  who  had  met  Shelley  in  Professor  Win- 
chester's classroom  and  become  impassioned, 
one  day  debated  with  a  scoffer,  another  un- 
dergraduate who  could  see  nothing  in  Shel- 
ley, debated  as  long  as  a  limited  vocabulary 
permitted,  and  then  fell  upon  the  antagonist 
and  gave  him  a  furious  beating  in  the  sacred 
name  of  Shelley. 

In  my  one  undergraduate  year  at  Wes- 
leyan  I  was  permitted  to  take  the  two  Eng- 
lish courses  then  given,  the  junior  historical 
181 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

course  and  the  senior  elective  or  seminary. 
Subsequently  I  returned  for  an  additional 
year  of  graduate  study.  Professor  Mead, 
who  had  joined  the  faculty  in  the  interim, 
taught  me  to  read  and  love  Beowulf,  and  I 
was  again  admitted  to  Professor  Winches- 
ter's seminary.  Thus,  it  was  my  privilege 
to  study  intensively  under  him  the  so-called 
Revolutionary  group  (the  Wordsworth- 
Byron  group ) ,  and  the  Victorian  group,  in- 
cluding Carlyle,  Tennyson,  and  Browning. 
I  should  say  the  best  of  Professor  Win- 
chester was  in  this  seminary,  the  cream,  the 
fine  essence  of  his  interpretation,  apprecia- 
tion, and  criticism.  We  met,  a  dozen  of  us, 
in  his  study1  in  Old  North  (he  generously 
put  at  our  disposal  his  private  library) — and 
there,  in  informal  conference,  he  brought  us 
as  close  to  philosophy  as  he  had  brought  us 


1  Until  1904,  room  56  North  College  was  his  study  and 
seminary  room  and  contained  his  working  library.  After  1904 
he  used  21  Fisk  Hail  as  his  study,  and  the  adjoining  room,  23, 
as  his  seminary  room,  and  his  library  was  placed  in  these  two 
rooms,  accessible  to  his  advanced  students.  Both  in  North 
College  and  in  Fisk  Hall,  the  rooms  commanded  a  beautiful 
eastern  prospect.  By  his  will  the  library  of  about  five  thou- 
sand volumes  has  become  the  property  of  the  University  and 
remains  in  its  accustomed  location  to  be  used  by  new  genera- 
tions of  Wesleyan  students. 

182 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

to  history  in  the  other  course.  Through  the 
labyrinths  of  the  author's  mind  and  method, 
he  led  us  to  the  inmost  heart  of  the  author's 
philosophical  implications. 

He  seldom  moralized.  With  him,  reli- 
gion and  morality  were  an  enveloping  at- 
mosphere, which  rendered  dogma  superflu- 
ous. That  was  well  for  literature,  which 
usually  suffers  grievous  hurt  when  taught 
didactically.  Surely,  it  was  also  well  for 
the  cause  of  morality:  surely,  if  we  believe 
in  morality  with  his  abundant  faith,  we 
should  have  his  abundant  confidence  in  its 
power  to  vindicate  itself  when  simple  truth 
is  presented.  For  instance,  he  did  not  draw 
deliberate  morals  from  the  career  of  Robert 
Burns,  his  instability  and  incontinence — he 
did  not  need  to.  Burns  was  presented  to  us 
without  admonition,  sympathetically  but 
truthfully,  in  his  poetic  inspiration,  human 
kindness,  infectious  humor,  and  also  in  his 
frailty  and  his  wreckage.  The  sum  total  was 
more  tragically  impressive  than  any  moral- 
izing could  have  been. 

This,  in  my  judgment,  was  the  supremely 
great,  the  greatest  trait  of  Professor  Win- 
chester as  a  teacher — his  undogmatic  yet 
183 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

solemnizing  interpretation  of  life  through 
the  medium  of  literature.  He  could  not 
have  done  this  so  convincingly  had  he  not 
been  essentially  a  moralist,  and  he  could  not 
have  done  it  so  delicately  had  he  not  been 
essentially  an  artist.  It  is  easier  to  preach 
morality  than  to  reveal  it;  easier,  and  more 
obvious,  to  extol  virtue  and  damn  vice  than 
with  the  cunning  of  deep  wisdom  to  lead 
people  to  see  for  themselves  the  beauty  and 
the  bravery  of  the  one,  the  ugliness  and  folly 
of  the  other,  through  a  faithful  revelation  of 
life's  own  values,  which,  in  reality,  are  de- 
termined by  God's  own  laws.  I  recall  no 
instance  of  Professor  Winchester's  lecturing 
us  on  our  personal  conduct,  but  the  effect  of 
his  teaching  in  its  totality,  reinforced,  of 
course,  by  his  own  lofty  character,  was  to 
make  us  solemnly  aware  of  our  inescapable 
obligations  to  conduct. 

All  this  means  spiritual  discernment,  the 
divine  tact,  which  is  the  gift  of  only  the  spir- 
itually minded.  It  was  the  same  gift  which 
made  him  a  powerful  interpreter  of  the 
spirit  of  literature — for,  indeed,  in  his  con- 
ception, the  spirit  of  literature  and  the  spirit 
of  life  are  one  and  the  same. 
184 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

I  recall  an  almost  mystical  incident  of  the 
seminary  period  in  his  study  in  Old  North— 
of  a  day  when  he  was  elucidating  Words- 
worth's transcendentalism.  He  sat  with  his 
head  resting  on  his  hand,  talking  in  low  mon- 
otone, as  one  muses — I  think  he  had  practi- 
cally forgotten  that  we  were  there.  Grad- 
ually a  change  came  over  his  face — you 
might  think  it  but  my  individual  fancy  were 
I  not  able  to  report  that  at  least  one  other 
observed  it  and  spoke  of  it  in  awed,  excited 
whisper.  I  think  several  noted  it,  but  viv- 
idly recall  the  one  and  his  excitement.  Pro- 
fessor Winchester  had  become  strikingly, 
almost  awesomely  the  visual  image  of 
Wordsworth  himself.  If  you  will  study  the 
Haydon  portrait  of  Wordsworth,  you  will 
observe  a  general  resemblance  in  the  con- 
tour of  the  head  and  in  the  features ;  but  that 
morning  there  was  more,  much  more :  it  was 
as  if  the  spirit  of  Wordsworth  had  passed 
into  his  face  while  he  sat  in  rapt  communion 
with  the  thrice-spiritualized  essence  of  the 
Words worthian  poetry. 

Judicial,   intellectual,   insistent   on  thor- 
oughness, accuracy,  clarity,  all  that  Profes- 
sor Winchester  was ;  but,  above  all,  he  strove 
185 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

to  impart  to  his  pupils  the  spirit  of  litera- 
ture. He  taught  them  to  love  literature 
while  teaching  them  to  know  it. 

Professor  Winchester,  like  Matthew  Ar- 
nold and  other  nineteenth  century  elders, 
took  a  serious  view  of  literature,  both  as  an 
art  and  as  a  civilizing  agency.  It  was  prob- 
ably in  his  commemoration  dinner  address 
that  he  made  his  last  definition  of  literature, 
terming  it  "the  best  thought  that  has  been 
touched  and  vitalized  with  emotion  and  ut- 
tered in  a  manner  of  lasting  charm,"  and 
adding,  "Thus  defined,  literature  is  obvi- 
ously the  best  interpreter  of  life — the  life  of 
the  individual  man  and  the  life  of  historical 
periods." 

It  was  his  life's  business  to  insinuate  into 
the  minds  of  the  youth  and  the  public  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact  respect  and  love 
for  this  thing  which  he  deemed  so  important, 
performing  his  task  faithfully  as  one  who 
recognizes  service  to  God  in  his  life's  work, 
and  at  the  same  time  performing  it  deli- 
cately, not  dogmatically,  but  by  interpreta- 
tion and  appreciation.  He  avoided  the  me- 
tallic method  of  Francis  Jeffrey,  who,  in  the 
words  of  Winchester,  "does  not  aim  to  give 
186 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

you  an  appreciation  of  the  book,  but  an  esti- 
mate of  it."  He  avoided  the  literary  dogma- 
tism of  Jeffrey,  who,  he  wrote,  "is  always 
cocksure,"  adding,  perhaps  with  a  smile, 
"which  is  pleasing  in  a  critic."  He  himself 
was  too  reverent  of  truth  and  withal  too 
modest  to  be  "cocksure,"  and  frequently  em- 
ployed phrases  of  reservation,  such  as,  "I 
take  it,"  "I  should  say,"  "one  thinks,"  "it 
seems  to  me." 

In  two  sayings,  one  on  Hunt,  one  on  Haz- 
litt,  we  find  his  conception  of  the  critic's 
office  and  the  sine  qua  non  of  his  equipment: 
Hunt  "had  the  first  qualification  of  the 
critic,  he  was  a  lover  of  books,"  and  "Haz- 
litt  has  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  gift  to 
enjoy  for  himself  what  is  best  in  literature, 
and  the  gift  to  convey  that  enjoyment  to  his 
reader— which  I  take  it  is  the  chief  func- 
tion of  criticism."  His  own  book,  A  Group 
of  English  Essayists,  is  a  most  happy  reali- 
zation of  that  ideal. 

We  are  grateful  that  he  published  a  few 
books,  regretful  that  he  did  not  publish 
more.  The  Life  of  John  Wesley  proves  that 
he  could  challenge  the  professional  biogra- 
phers on  their  own  ground.  William  Words- 
187 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

worth:  How  to  Know  Him  is  probably  the 
best  existent  guide  to  understanding  and 
appreciation  of  the  poet.  Some  Principles 
of  Literary  Criticism  is  a  sound  discussion  of 
formal  literary  principles.  But  the  most 
delightful  of  his  books,  that  in  which  we  get 
most  of  himself,  is  A  Group  of  English  Es- 
sayists of  the  Early  Nineteenth  Century. 
He  who  would  know  how  Professor  Win- 
chester lectured  may  find  the  answer  in  these 
essays,  which  are  probably  but  slightly  re- 
vised lectures,  for  his  lectures,  like  Emer- 
son's, were  literary  essays. 

In  one  of  the  essays,  the  first  in  the  vol- 
ume, he  defines  the  modern  essay  as  "ex- 
tended discussion  of  some  one  theme,  pop- 
ular in  manner  yet  accurate  in  statement, 
and  admitting  high  literary  finish."  While 
writing  about  famous  makers  of  this  type  of 
literary  art,  he  proves  himself  their  peer. 
Here,  in  these  half-dozen  essays,  are  the 
qualities  which  made  his  lectures  nothing  less 
than  wonderful:  the  scope  and  the  struc- 
tured ease,  the  vivid  portrayal  of  his  author's 
personality  through  an  exposition  of  the 
facts  of  his  life,  the  elements  of  his  charac- 
ter, the  thoughts  of  his  brain,  the  emotions 
188 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

of  his  heart,  and  the  qualities  of  his  art,  all 
fused  into  a  whole.    Read,  for  example,  the 
essay  on  Hazlitt,  and  consider  the  scope,  the 
movement,  the  unity  of  it.     It  opens  with 
an  anecdote,  something  concrete,  to  catch 
the  reader's  (or  hearer's)  attention,  yet  en- 
tirely pertinent  to  what  follows — a  passage 
from  Hazlitt's  own  writings,  telling  how  he 
first  met  Coleridge ;  then  a  brief  account  of 
the  influence  of  Coleridge  on  Hazlitt;  then 
a  question  as  to  why  Hazlitt  felt  himself  so 
much  indebted  to  Coleridge;  then  follows 
logically  a  story  of  inherent  radicalism  in 
the  Hazlitt  family,  of  ancestral  residence  in 
America  and  sympathies  with  the  American 
struggle    for   independence,    of   return   to 
Europe  and  sympathy  with  French  Revolu- 
tionism, of  the  relationship  of  Napoleonism 
to  revolutionism  and  the  later  reactions,  of 
the   fascination   which   Napoleon   had   for 
William  Hazlitt.     Here  the  writer  pauses 
to  remind  us  that  it  was  natural  for  Hazlitt, 
under  such  influences,  public  and  private,  to 
be  attracted  by  the  early  liberalism  of  Cole- 
ridge; we  have  swept  back  to  the  starting 
point,  but  with  our  minds  informed,  and  with 
the  foundations  laid  for  all  that  follows. 
189 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

When  we  have  finished  the  essay  we  real- 
ize that  the  writer  has  accomplished  the 
thaumaturgy  of  presenting  a  body  of  ideas 
through  a  personality.  He  has  talked  about 
history,  philosophy,  principles  of  criticism, 
but  all  the  while  Hazlitt  himself  has  held  the 
center  of  the  stage.  The  facts  of  his  life 
and  the  influences  of  his  environment,  and 
his  thoughts  and  his  practiced  art,  have  all 
been  fused  in  a  unit,  and  that  unit  is  a  por- 
trait. That  is  literary  art  of  a  very  high 
order. 

In  the  Principles  of  Literary  Criticism 
Professor  Winchester  wrote,  "The  charm  of 
all  literature  resides  largely  in  the  personal- 
ity of  the  author."  His  own  lecture-essays 
illustrated  that  saying  vividly  and  with  dig- 
nity. He  dealt  with  his  subjects  most  per- 
sonally, but  avoided  the  tone  of  gossip  which 
he  disliked  in  De  Quincey.  Forced  by  the 
conditions  to  speak  of  unpleasant  things, 
the  unhappy  marital  experiences  of  Hazlitt 
and  of  John  Wesley,  he  introduced  the  topic 
in  each  instance  with  a  phrase  that  warns 
the  reader  that  he  has  no  personal  relish  for 
such  matters,  and  will  hasten  over  them  as 
quickly  as  possible — which  he  does.  He 
190 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

conceived  "personality"  in  large  terms,  as 
incorporating  what  a  man  thought  and  wrote 
as  well  as  what  he  was  and  did.  Seldom  did 
Professor  Winchester  write  first  about  an 
author's  "life"  and  then  about  his  "works," 
the  old  formal  analysis,  but  merged  the  two 
in  one — a  portrait.  He  had  an  extraordi- 
nary power  of  analysis  by  negatives,  of  ex- 
plaining what  a  man  was  by  explaining  what 
he  was  not.  There  are  whole  paragraphs  in 
the  Life  of  John  Wesley  which  tell  what 
Wesley  was  not,  but  out  of  it  all  comes  a 
clear  and  definite  idea  of  what  Wesley  was 
— a  portrait. 

This  power  of  portraiture  was  the  crown- 
ing explanation  of  Professor  Winchester's 
ability  to  fascinate  miscellaneous  audiences. 
After  hearing  him  lecture  on  Hazlitt  or 
Wordsworth  or  Browning,  people  left  the 
hall  with  the  impression  that  they  had  spent 
an  hour  with  Hazlitt  or  Wordsworth  or 
Browning.  In  reality,  they  had  learned 
much  more  about  each  than  they  would 
have  learned  from  an  hour's  talk  with  either. 
Imagine  ourselves  spending  an  hour  with 
each  of  these  immortals:  Browning  would 
refer  questions  concerning  his  poetry  to  the 
191 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

Browning  Society,  would  talk  freely,  but 
not  about  the  things  we  most  wished  to  hear 
about;  Wordsworth  would  talk  about  his 
poetry,  but  so  prosaically  as  to  make  us  won- 
der why  we  had  ever  cared  for  his  poetry; 
Hazlitt  probably  would  not  talk  at  all. 

Combined  with  these  larger  architectural 
qualities,  was  that  elusive,  but  very  real 
thing,  which  is  called  literary  style,  a  style 
that  was  easy,  fluent,  limpid,  lucid.  Like 
William  Dean  Howells,  whose  departure  we 
are  also  lamenting  now,  Professor  Winches- 
ter mastered  a  style  which  he  never  permit- 
ted to  master  him — the  skillful  phrase,  the 
epigram,  the  simile,  the  metaphor,  the  hu- 
morous turn — they  were  all  there  for  service, 
not  for  display. 

He  was  as  lucid  as  Matthew  Arnold,  or 
"Mr.  Arnold,"  as  Professor  Winchester  usu- 
ally called  him,  with  a  touch  of  old-time 
courtesy.  I  am  bold  to  say  that  Professor 
Winchester's  devices  for  lucidity  were  supe- 
rior to  Arnold's.  Arnold  would  reiterate 
the  identical  phrase  until  repetition  became 
a  mannerism,  suggesting  affectation,  as  if 
Arnold  were  saying,  "Behold  how  lucid  I 
am!"  Professor  Winchester's  method  was 
192 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

subtler,  the  thought  repeated  and  reinforced 
by  a  variant  phrase.  To  illustrate  with  one 
of  many  examples:  he  is  talking  of  De 
Quincey's  discursiveness;  he  says:  "He  [De 
Quincey]  must  pull  his  thought  up  by  the 
roots,  and  then  trace  out  with  laborious  pre- 
cision all  its  minute  filaments,  arid  its  ram- 
ifications into  a  network  of  other  thought." 
Having  completed  that  sentence,  Professor 
Winchester  adds,  "Everything  reminds  him 
of  something  else."  That  is  admirable:  the 
clarification  is  not  by  mere  repetition,  but  by 
making  the  long  and  short  sentences  mutu- 
ally support  each  other.  The  short  sentence 
by  itself  would  be  too  indefinite,  too  much 
mere  epigram,  cryptic,  elusive.  The  long 
sentence  by  itself  is  clear,  but,  if  I  may  use 
the  expression,  it  lacks  "punch."  The 
"punch"  of  the  appended  epigram  enforces 
the  thought,  and  makes  it  stick  in  the  read- 
er's (or  hearer's)  mind. 

Professor  Winchester  was  singularly 
without  literary  mannerisms.  Of  course, 
every  writer  has  some  pet  words — "unctu- 
ous," "factitious,"  "stodgy"  were  character- 
istic words  of  Professor  Winchester's,  which 
I  used  to  hear  in  the  classroom  and  now  find 
193 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

in  the  printed  books,  but,  in  general,  his 
style  was  without  self-consciousness.  In- 
deed, it  is  so  without  display  that,  if  we  are 
heedless,  we  shall  overlook  its  excellences: 
its  rhythm  (he  himself  said  that  "  the  crown- 
ing grace  of  prose  is  a  good  rhythm"),  the 
aptness  of  his  imagery,  and  his  epigrams. 
Self-conscious  writers  put  their  epigrams  on 
exhibition,  as  shopkeepers  set  their  smart- 
est wares  in  the  show  window,  but  Professor 
Winchester  employed  them  only  when  they 
were  serviceable — and  they  were  ready-to- 
hand  when  he  needed  them. 

How  pithy  and  pertinent  are  his  epi- 
grams! For  instance,  this:  "If  a  man  has 
resolved  never  to  change  his  mind,  it  doesn't 
much  matter  what  he  thinks";  or,  Hazlitt 
"had  the  peculiarly  happy  fortune  of  van- 
quishing his  antagonist  and  losing  his  cause ; 
and  thus  enjoyed  at  once  the  pride  of  vic- 
tory and  the  pride  of  martyrdom."  The 
point  of  Professor  Winchester's  epigrams 
is  that  they  probe  human  nature.  All  the 
learning  in  the  world,  all  the  reading  of  a 
lifetime  cannot  make  a  man  of  letters  of 
him  who  is  ignorant  of  human  nature.  Lit- 
erature in  its  larger  meaning  is  simply  an 
194 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

illustration  of  life.  To  know  human  nature 
searchingly  and  yet  sympathetically  is  part 
of  the  equipment  of  the  man  of  letters,  and 
Professor  Winchester  was  fully  armed. 

He  thought  easily  and  naturally  in  im- 
agery. In  simple  but  telling  metaphor  he 
explains  why  the  essays  of  John  Wilson 
("Christopher  North"),  once  so  popular, 
are  now  so  hard  to  read:  "The  effervescent 
humor  has  lost  its  bubble  now,  and  tastes  a 
little  flat  on  the  palate."  There  is  a  really 
superb  simile  in  the  essay  on  Charles  Lamb, 
which  relates  how  loquacious  guests  would 
gather  in  Lamb's  rooms  on  his  "Wednes- 
day evenings,"  and  how  "on  some  rare  and 
famed  occasion,  the  heavy  form  of  Coleridge 
himself  comes  toiling  uncertainly  up  the 
stair,  and  his  great  forehead,  like  the  dome 
of  Paul's  in  the  babble  of  London,  throws  a 
high  dignity  over  the  company." 

With  this  lambent  phraseology  Professor 
Winchester  combined  a  humor  of  the  type 
we  call  "Yankee,"  droll,  sometimes  as  sly  as 
Chaucer's,  who,  though  no  Yankee,  antici- 
pated some  Yankee  traits  of  speech  (many 
of  the  good  things  which  we  call  new  are 
really  very  old).  When  Professor  Win- 
195 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

Chester  wrote  that  "Hazlitt  was  never  ambi- 
tious of  mere  smartness,"  he  said  something 
applicable  to  himself.  He  used  his  humor, 
as  he  used  his  imagery,  to  interpret  his  sub- 
ject. But  I  have  heard  audiences  cooing 
with  low  sympathetic  laughter  as  Professor 
Winchester  unostentatiously  pointed  truth 
with  wit.  Wit,  metaphor,  and  epigram  are 
triple  feathers  to  wing  a  dart  of  truth  in  his 
saying  that  Hazlitt  "took  care  that  his  best 
friendships  should  not  grow  stagnant  by 
long  standing."  Gentle  but  telling  is  his 
rebuke  of  George  Saintsbury's  rash  super- 
latives in  the  quiet  remark:  "Mr.  Saint sbury 
pronounces  Wilson's  descriptions  of  scenery 
better  than  anything  of  the  kind  in  English 
prose ;  but  I  think  he  must  have  forgotten  a 
good  deal  to  say  that."  Sometimes  the  droll- 
ery is  sly  and  will  escape  us  unless  we  are 
alert:  for  instance,  he  speaks  of  Leigh 
Hunt's  notorious  laxity  in  money  matters,  in 
the  early  part  of  the  essay  on  Hunt ;  later  he 
is  speaking  of  Hunt's  sentimental  antipathy 
to  the  stern  Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament, 
and  concludes  with,  "To  punishment  he  was 
mildly  but  firmly  opposed;  it  was  a  form  of 
payment." 

196 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

He  had  an  American  habit  of  clinching  a 
point  with  a  quotation  from  a  typical,  myth- 
ical, or  "traditional"  Irishman.  Often  in 
class  have  we  first  laughed  at  that  Irishman's 
remark,  and  a  moment  later  admired  the 
clever  application  of  it  to  the  matter  under 
discussion.  Sometimes  I  half  suspected  an 
innocent  invention,  the  creation  of  the  Irish- 
man for  the  occasion,  if  anecdotage  and  Pro- 
fessor Winchester's  memory  failed  to  supply 
the  remark  needed  for  the  particular  point. 
Whether  invention  or  quotation,  it  was  al- 
ways most  apt — as  in  the  essay  on  John  Wil- 
son where  he  is  commenting  on  Wilson's 
boisterous,  over-emphatic,  unshaded  literary 
manner,  and  says,  "Wilson  writes  as  the  tra- 
ditional Irishman  played  the  violin,  'by  main 
strength.'  " 

So  human  a  man  as  Professor  Winchester 
partakes  of  life  in  many  capacities.  Impor- 
tant phases  of  his  career  I  have  not  touched : 
the  faculty  committeeman,  the  churchman, 
the  citizen,  the  personal  friend,  the  husband 
and  father.  I  have  talked  of  him  only  as 
teacher,  lecturer,  critic,  and  man  of  letters 
— the  leading  terms  of  a  comprehensive  pro- 
fession to  which  he  gave  half  a  century  and 
197 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

his  strength.  He  was  aware  of  the  wide  and 
busy  world,  for  the  windows  of  his  mind 
opened  outward.  But  the  stir  of  the  world's 
activity  could  not  lure  him  from  the  quiet 
ways  of  teaching  and  literature;  here  was 
his  life's  business,  and  here  he  found  his  sat- 
isfaction. 

And  "here"  also  means  Wesleyan.  It  is 
common  knowledge  that  other  universities 
made  repeated  efforts  to  tempt  him  away, 
but  here  he  elected  to  remain.  Wesleyan's 
is  an  honorable  history.  No  college  is  more 
secure  in  its  position,  more  assured  of  the 
respect  of  the  informed.  Wesleyan  has  a 
tradition  and  an  ideal,  both  founded  in  a 
purpose,  clear,  defined,  sustained.  Her  past 
is  a  benediction,  her  future  an  inspiration. 
Wesleyan  has  had  able  servitors  to  translate 
her  ideals  into  accomplishment.  Great  men 
have  investigated  nature  in  these  laborato- 
ries and  taught  within  these  ivied  walls. 
Though  their  labors  were  apart  from  the 
world's  busy  marts,  the  world  has  felt  their 
influence,  for  they  assisted  in  pushing  a  little 
further  back  the  clouds  of  ignorance  and  in 
kindling  the  flame  of  knowledge  to  enlighten 
the  world's  path  to  progress.  Many  and 
198 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

pressing  are  the  modern  problems  of  educa- 
tion, but  the  chief  problem,  now  as  formerly, 
is  to  educate.  Wesleyan  has  always  been 
faithful  to  the  initial  duty.  Her  sons  have 
gone  forth  educated.  Some  of  these  teach- 
ers are  still  here,  others  have  gone  to  labor 
in  other  fields,  yet  others  have  ceased  from 
earthly  toil.  Conspicuous  among  these  men 
of  learning  and  of  light  was  Professor  Win- 
chester. Now  he  has  left  us  to  take  his  place 
among  the  immortals  who  have  left  the  world 
better  for  having  lived  in  it. 

We  who  remain  shall  miss  him  sorely ;  but 
we  reverently  and  fervently  thank  God  for 
having  lent  him  to  the  world  for  a  lifetime ; 
and  over  his  earthly  mound  we  murmur  fa- 
miliar words  from  a  play  of  Shakespeare's 
that  was  dear  to  him: 

Quiet  consummation  have; 
And  renowned  be  thy  grave. 


199 


MEMORIAL  EXERCISES 

FOR 
PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

AT 

WILBRAHAM   ACADEMY 

APRIL  11,  1920 


MEMORIES  OF  PROFESSOR  WIN- 
CHESTER AT  SCHOOL  AND 
COLLEGE 

BY  REV.  ALFRED  NOON* 

MORE  than  a  half  century  ago  the  class 
which,  in  the  later  enumeration  of  the  school, 
was  known  as  that  of  1865,  looked  askance 
at  one  another  in  Wilbraham.  Had  it  not 
been  for  the  fact  that  half  the  members  were 
ladies,  it  would  have  been  possible  to  form  a 
rather  conspicuous  awkward  squad. 

Those  were  stirring  times  and  they  had 
their  effect  upon  all  the  students.  A  consid- 
erable number  of  the  class  as  graduated  en- 
tered in  1863,  in  a  very  dark  period  of  the 
Civil  War.  Thrilling  news  came  often,  dis- 
turbing the  calmness  of  the  cloistered  popu- 
lace of  the  school.  In  the  midst  of  such  days 
Caleb  Winchester  arrived  in  Wilbraham. 
He  did  not  make  much  impression  at  first. 
He  was  shy,  towheaded,  slight  of  build,  and 
a  tremendous  fellow  to  dig.  His  life  in  an 

1  His  classmate  in  Wilbraham  Academy  and  in  Wesleyan 
University. 

203 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

itinerant's  home  had  taught  him  to  be  frugal 
and  dependable. 

After  a  few  recitations,  the  classes  and 
the  professors  began  to  take  notice,  and  con- 
tinued to  do  so  until  the  bells  at  Middletown 
tolled  his  requiem.  It  is  doubtful  if  he  ever 
said  "not  prepared"  at  Wilbraham,  and 
probably  he  never  "smashed,"  as  we  called 
a  total  failure  in  college. 

There  was  one  peculiarity  about  Caleb — 
or,  as  we  soon  christened  him,  "Winch" — he 
really  acted  as  if  he  liked  Latin.  Even  the 
Latin  prose  so  far  appealed  to  him  that  he 
would  make  a  fluent  and  accurate  recitation. 
He  also  admired  and  diligently  studied  the 
Greek,  marching  cheerful  "parasangs"  along 
its  pathways. 

But  what  appealed  most  to  "Winch,"  even 
then,  was  literature.  The  really  good  li- 
brary at  the  Academy,  then  up  on  the  hill, 
afforded  him  many  an  hour  of  valuable 
study.  It  was  probably  then  that  he  formed 
his  taste  for  belles-lettres  and  laid  the  foun- 
dation for  a  brilliant  career. 

There  was  much  at  the  Wilbraham  of  the 
'sixties  which  appealed  to  a  student  of  taste. 
The  fields  were  never  greener  than  then,  the 
204 


EXERCISES  AT  WILBRAHAM 

gurgle  of  the  modest  Rubicon  on  the  campus 
was  veritable  music,  the  trees  of  the  moun- 
tain and  walks  about  the  Dell  and  else- 
where were  inspiring.  Hymettus  had  a 
rival  in  Mount  Marcy,  nor  did  the  amaranth 
and  the  lotus  for  a  moment  outvie  the  pond 
lilies  and  the  laurels  of  Wilbraham.  In  such 
scenes,  among  autumn  breezes  and  winter 
storms  and  springtime  zephyrs,  the  very  dei- 
ties of  letters  seemed  to  kiss  his  brow  and 
train  his  pen. 

Even  we  who  were  members  of  the  class 
look  back  with  great  respect  upon  the  bud- 
ding geniuses  we  were  sure  had  come  to 
grace  and  honor  old  Wilbraham.  That  was 
quite  a  program  we  put  out  June  28,  1865. 
"Winch"  had  the  salutatory,  and  we  were  all 
glad  when  he  set  the  ball  rolling  by  a  disser- 
tation, given  in  the  English  pronunciation, 
on  "Nostrae  Expectationes."  The  topics, 
as  a  whole,  covered  all  the  realms  of  thought 
and  activity.  There  were  twenty-four  ora- 
tions and  essays — a  full  entertainment,  cer- 
tainly. Three  of  the  men  became  college 
presidents,  and  Winchester  won  greater 
fame  as  a  professor  than  came  to  any  of  the 
three;  two  became  lawyers;  one  still  dis- 
205 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

penses  pills ;  six  became  clergymen ;  and  one 
of  the  women  became  a  prodigy  in  higher 
science,  and  one  the  wife  of  the  beloved  pro- 
fessor "Ben"  Gill,  and  is  to  be  credited  with 
many  of  the  qualities  which  brought  him  such 
success.  Such,  with  hosts  of  other  students 
—for  we  were  nearly  four  hundred  in  all — 
were  Winchester's  associates  and  friends. 

Nor  should  the  occasion  pass  without  ref- 
erence to  the  faculty.  In  our  first  year  we 
had  the  peerless  Dr.  Miner  Raymond,  one 
of  the  best  of  Methodism's  gifts  to  the  guild 
of  teachers  and  educational  managers.  His 
keen  eye,  his  lucid  style,  his  quick  wit,  and 
his  abounding  sympathy  are  not  forgotten 
in  the  flight  of  years.  Then  we  had  Chester, 
exact  and  animated,  and  Kimpton,  polished 
and  appealing,  and  Lorenzo  White,  a  little 
angular  in  appearance  but  as  upright  as  a 
forest  giant. 

While  Winchester  did  not  particularly 
cultivate  the  social  life,  he  was  always  a  quiet 
favorite.  His  playful  translation  of  the 
Greek  form  of  his  given  name,  revealed  the 
surname  of  one  of  the  leading  ladies  of  the 
class.  He  was  quite  at  home  in  the  "inter- 
view" and  knew  where  to  go  on  the  May 
206 


EXERCISES  AT  WILBRAHAM 

walk  and  the  chestnut  walk.  He  was  very 
useful  in  the  literary  society  and  eagerly  em- 
braced its  opportunities. 

It  is  very  pleasant  to  recall  his  religious 
life,  which,  however,  developed  much  in  the 
college  days.  He  was  especially  fond  of  the 
fine  hymns  of  the  church,  and  would  fairly 
be  in  ecstasy  when  "There  is  a  land  of  pure 
delight"  was  sung  to  the  lively  tune  of  "Va- 
rina."  Chapel  did  not  seem  to  him  to  be 
irksome,  and  the  college  prayer  meetings  of 
the  old  class  of  1869  often  found  him  present 
and  active. 

There  are  few  examples  more  conspicuous 
or  more  to  be  remembered  of  the  cultured 
Christian  gentleman  than  that  of  Professor 
Winchester.  How  great  a  boon  to  the  age 
was  his  half -century  of  service  in  the  profes- 
sor's chair  at  Middletown !  Yet  the  forma- 
tive period  was  back  in  the  war-wrecked 
'sixties,  when  old  Wilbraham  put  him  in 
training  for  his  life  work. 


207 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER: 
A  MODEL  SON  OF  WILBRAHAM 

AN    APPRECIATION 

BY  PROFESSOR  KARL  P.  HARRINGTON 

WHILE  it  is  impossible  in  the  few  mo- 
ments at  our  command  here  to  do  justice  to 
the  memory  of  such  a  gentleman,  scholar, 
critic,  educator,  friend,  and  Christian  as  was 
our  beloved  Professor  Winchester,  it  is  nev- 
ertheless eminently  appropriate  to  spend 
even  the  short  time  available  in  briefly  re- 
viewing his  life  and  work  as  a  Wilbraham 
student  of  the  older  days,  as  an  exemplar  of 
the  Wilbraham  ideal  in  scholarship,  in  char- 
acter, and  in  Christian  service,  and  as  pro- 
tagonist of  the  new  Wilbraham.  For  his  life 
and  character  have  a  vital  interest  for  the 
present  generation  of  Wilbraham  students, 
upon  whom  rests  the  burden  of  realizing  in 
the  school  of  to-day  the  ideal  of  our  fore- 
most Wilbrahamite. 

Professor  Winchester's  loving  devotion  to 
this  old  school  amounted  to  a  ruling  passion. 
208 


EXERCISES  AT  WILBRAHAM 

To  it  as  the  scene  of  his  youthful  affections, 
inspirations,  and  newly  awakened  scholarly 
ambition,  his  heart  ever  reverted  fondly. 
The  friendships  begun  here  were  for  life,  and 
among  his  most  precious  treasures.  Dear 
old  Ben  Gill  and  George  Reed  and  various 
others  too  numerous  to  name  were  his  life- 
long cronies ;  and  he  never  ceased  to  praise 
the  hills  and  woods  and  waters  and  nooks 
where  in  his  young  manhood  with  these  kin- 
dred spirits  he  had  roved  at  will  and  dreamed 
of  the  future.  It  was  with  fairly  boyish  de- 
light that  with  a  little  group  of  classmates 
he  celebrated  his  fiftieth  anniversary  reunion 
by  wandering  up  and  down  these  same  hill- 
sides and  loitering  in  the  Dell,  and  mak- 
ing the  welkin  ring  with  the  old  songs  of  a 
half -century  ago. 

Here,  too,  it  was  that  those  scholarly  ideals 
were  firmly  established  which  formed  the 
basis  of  his  inimitable  success  in  the  field  of 
literature.  To  haunt  a  library;  to  love  the 
beautiful  in  literature  as  well  as  everywhere 
else;  to  cultivate  breadth  of  view;  to  know 
his  authors  as  persons  whose  genius  and 
character  became  so  familiar  that  they 
seemed  like  his  friends  and  companions;  to 
209 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

hate  shams  and  love  the  expression  that  rings 
true;  to  associate  with  a  book  till  he  could 
see  through  it  and  its  author,  analyze  them, 
and  sum  up  the  essence  of  a  work  of  genius 
in  a  few  words ;  to  give  vent  to  his  rich  gift 
of  humor;  to  practise  graceful  and  elegant 
reading  and  speech;  to  love  the  intellectual 
life  and  not  to  be  afraid  of  hard  thinking — 
of  these  characteristics  of  his  eminent  schol- 
arship he  laid  here  the  foundation,  not  the 
least  of  the  important  influences  that  pro- 
duced these  results  coming  to  him  through 
his  membership  in  the  venerable  literary  and 
debating  society  of  his  choice. 

And  here  was  fostered  and  developed  that 
genuine  Christianity  which  this  old  school 
has  always  aimed  to  teach  and  exemplify, 
and  which  thousands  of  old  Wilbraham  stu- 
dents look  back  upon  as  the  best  gift  of  the 
historic  academy.  A  simple  faith,  a  gentle 
and  consistent  life,  a  love  of  mankind,  and  a 
devotion  of  every  day  to  God's  service 
were  his  traits.  He  knew  no  distinction  be- 
tween "sacred"  and  "secular,"  but  to  him 
the  daily  task,  however  humble — in  fact,  all 
worthy  work — was  God's  work. 

These  were  the  principles  upon  which 
210 


EXERCISES  AT  WILBRAHAM 

was  built  so  broad  and  successful  and  use- 
ful a  life.  And  when,  after  the  lapse  of 
years,  in  the  midst  of  changing  educational 
policies,  the  old  school  had  reached  a  criti- 
cal point  where  a  new  form  and  a  more  mod- 
ern type  of  life  were  essential,  it  was  Pro- 
fessor Winchester  who  consistently  and 
triumphantly  advocated  and  planned  for  the 
new  school  with  a  vision  that  often  antici- 
pated that  of  many  of  his  colleagues  on  the 
board  of  trustees.  For  years  he  dreamed  of 
the  reorganization  that  is  now  an  accom- 
plished fact.  His  vision  is  amply  justified 
under  the  present  able  administration  of  the 
school,  and  his  judgment  finds  daily  vindi- 
cation. It  was  thus  eminently  fitting  that 
he  should  have  been  the  first  president  of  the 
board  under  the  new  regime,  and  should  have 
lived  to  see  the  realization  of  his  hopes  in 
the  development  of  the  school  where  he  had 
begun  his  notable  career.  Many  of  his  hap- 
piest moments  in  later  years  were  spent  from 
time  to  time  at  just  such  hearthfire  gather- 
ings as  this  one  where  our  memorial  service 
is  being  held  to-night,  and  many  of  you  have 
listened  on  such  occasions  to  his  sympathetic 
and  inspiring  words  to  the  group  of  those 
211 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

whom  he  could  think  of  as  his  boys.  May 
all  Wilbraham  students  cherish  his  memory 
as  that  of  one  who  exemplified  the  ideal 
product  of  the  school  that  he  so  dearly  loved ! 


212 


RESOLUTIONS 

IN  MEMOKY  OF 

PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

AND  OTHEB  TRIBUTES 


EXTRACT  FROM  A  MEMOIR  EN- 

TERED  IN  THE  MINUTES  OF 

THE  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES, 

WESLEYAN  UNIVERSITY 

THE  most  significant  event  of  the  year  was 
the  coronation,  on  earth  and  in  heaven,  of 
Caleb  Thomas  Winchester,  our  matchless 
professor  of  English  literature.  .  .  . 

For  many  years  Professor  Winchester  . . . 
was  Wesleyan's  fairest,  finest  ornament. 
The  classical  charm,  the  perfect  diction,  the 
chaste  dignity,  the  clear,  unerring  analysis, 
the  vivid  descriptions  and  picturing  power  in 
his  lectures  and  writings  made  him  a  model 
of  pure,  vital,  racy  English  style.  .  .  . 

But  Professor  Winchester's  rare  ability, 
acquirements,  and  literary  mastery  were  not 
the  noblest  of  his  gifts  to  his  alma  mater. 
Greatest  of  all  was  his  ...  devotion  to  his 
students.  His  laborious  patience  in  his 
work  with  them  was  unsurpassed.  His  ex- 
ample exacted  from  them  similar  applica- 
tion. .  .  . 

His  devotion  to  his  own  mother-college 
was  equal  to  his  sacrificing  love  to  his  stu- 
215 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

dents.  Tempted  away  from  Wesleyan  by 
larger  colleges  and  rich  universities,  east  and 
west,  with  higher  salary  and  less  toilsome 
duties,  he  declined  their  flattering  invita- 
tions and  spent  his  whole  splendid  life  in  the 
service  of  his  alma  mater. 

No  praise  can  pay  the  debt,  no  words  ex- 
press the  gratitude,  due  to  such  a  man  for 
such    services    joyfully    rendered    through 
fifty  magnificent  years. . . . 
June  19,  1920. 

WILLIAM  VALENTINE  KELLEY, 

WILLIAM  AKNOLD  SHANKLIN, 

JOHN  GRIBBEL, 

FRANK  KIRKWOOD  HALLOCK. 


216 


EXTRACT  FROM  THE  MINUTES 
OF  THE  FACULTY  OF  WES- 
LEYAN UNIVERSITY, 

MAKCH  25,  1920 

THE  Vice-President  reported  that  he  had 
appointed  a  committee,  consisting  of  Profes- 
sors Crawford,  Mead,  and  Farley,  to  draw 
up  resolutions  in  memory  of  Professor  Win- 
chester. The  committee  presented  the  fol- 
lowing, which  were  adopted  by  a  rising  vote : 

By  the  death  of  Caleb  Thomas  Winchester 
Wesleyan  has  been  deprived  of  one  of  the  most 
widely  known  and  best  loved  members  of  her  fac- 
ulty. Added  to  the  teaching  staff  of  the  univer- 
sity shortly  after  his  graduation  in  1869,  he  was 
from  the  outset  recognized  as  an  independent 
thinker  and  as  a  brilliant  and  inspiring  teacher. 
With  rare  modesty,  uniformly  disclaiming  close 
acquaintance  with  any  matter  outside  his  chosen 
field,  he  brought  to  the  classroom  an  intimate 
knowledge  not  only  of  the  entire  range  of  modern 
English  literature  but  of  the  great  subjects  that 
combine  to  make  a  liberal  education.  For  well 
nigh  half  a  century  his  interpretation  of  litera- 
ture has  shaped  the  thinking  and  guided  the  taste 
of  nearly  every  student  of  Wesleyan  University. 
His  standards  of  literary  excellence  have  been 

217 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

the  ideal  which  nearly  two  generations  of  pupils 
have  endeavored  to  realize  in  their  own  work.  In 
his  personal  relations  with  his  students  and  his 
colleagues  Professor  Winchester  uniformly  showed 
an  exquisite  courtesy  and  a  marked  consideration 
for  views  that  differed  widely  from  his  own.  But 
his  opinions  were  always  so  well  grounded  and 
presented  so  persuasively  that  he  not  infrequently 
convinced  his  most  determined  opponents. 

We  cannot  yet  realize  in  full  the  debt  that 
Wesleyan  owes  to  Professor  Winchester,  but  we 
can  see  throughout  his  life  a  singleness  of  purpose 
and  a  devotion  to  duty  that  reflect  the  high  Chris- 
tian character  of  one  who  walked  as  ever  in  his 
great  Taskmaster's  eye. 


218 


RESOLUTIONS       ADOPTED       BY 
THE  COLLEGE  BODY  OF  WES- 
LEYAN UNIVERSITY 

IN  M  EMORIAM 

Professor  Caleb  T.  Winchester 

WHEREAS,  God  in  his  infinite  love  and 
knowledge  has  chosen  to  call  Caleb  T.  Win- 
chester, our  beloved  guide,  teacher,  and 
friend,  from  our  college  group ;  and 

WHEREAS,  We  mourn  the  loss  of  his 
gentle  and  inspiring  character  and  appreci- 
ate his  life  of  generous  service  and  unswerv- 
ing devotion  to  our  college ;  therefore,  be  it 
Resolved:  That  we,  the  undergraduates 
of  Wesleyan  University,  do  hereby  extend 
to  his  family  our  deepest  sympathy;  and  be 
it  further 

Resolved:  That  copies  of  these  resolutions 
be  given  to  the  bereaved  family,  written  into 
the  records  of  the  college  body,  and  pub- 
lished in  the  Wesleyan  Argus. 

RAYMOND  A.  DOUSSEAU, 
EDWARD  E.  DIXON, 
BYRON  D.  MACDONALD, 

For  the  College  Body. 
219 


RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED  BY  XI 
CHAPTER  OF  PSI  UPSILON 

WHEREAS,,  God  in  his  infinite  wisdom  has 
seen  fit  to  take  from  our  midst  our  beloved 
professor,  friend,  and  brother,  Caleb 
Thomas  Winchester,  and 

WHEREAS,  The  Xi  Chapter  of  Psi  Up- 
silon  does  very  deeply  feel  the  loss  of  so  true 
and  loyal  a  brother,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  extend  to  the  members 
of  his  bereaved  family  our  deepest  and  most 
heartfelt  sympathy;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  copies  of  these  resolutions 
be  sent  to  his  family  and  communicated  to 
the  public  through  the  medium  of  the  proper 
publications. 

For  the  Chapter, 

GEORGE  F.  BICKFORIX, 
MILTON  S.  ANDREWS. 


220 


EXTRACT      FROM      A      MINUTE 

ADOPTED  BY  THE  WESLEYAN 

UNIVERSITY  CLUB  OF  NEW 

YORK 

.  .  .  Since  Professor  Winchester  summed 
up  so  well  in  himself  and  in  his  career  the 
ideals  of  Wesleyan ;  since  he  was  so  supreme 
an  embodiment  of  the  best  that  Wesleyan 
can  produce ;  since  the  lovable  nobility,  dig- 
nity, loyalty,  charity,  and  integrity  of  his 
character,  and  the  sweetness  and  light  of  his 
scholarship  have  been  so  wrought  into  the 
most  precious  traditions  of  Wesleyan ;  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Wesleyan  University 
Club  of  New  York  record  its  recognition  of 
the  irreparable  loss  it  has  suffered  in  the 
death  of  Professor  Winchester  by  incorpo- 
rating this  minute  in  the  permanent  records 
of  the  Club  and  by  sending  a  copy  thereof 
to  Mrs.  Winchester  and  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Wesleyan  Alumni  Council.1 

May  8,  1920. 

1  This  minute  was  drafted  by  Cornelius  Roach  Berrien,  '96. 

221 


EXTRACT  FROM  THE  MINUTES 
OF  THE  NEW  YORK  EAST  AN- 
NUAL     CONFERENCE      OF 
THE  METHODIST  EPIS- 
COPAL CHURCH 

Thursday,  March  25,  1920. 

Death  of  Professor  Winchester. — W.  A. 
Shanklin  announced  the  death  of  Professor 
C.  T.  Winchester,  of  Wesleyan  University. 
On  motion  of  F.  M.  North,  it  was  ordered 
that  a  committee  on  a  minute  for  publica- 
tion be  appointed,  composed  of  those  who 
had  graduated  from  Wesleyan  University 
during  the  five  decades  of  Professor  Win- 
chester's service.  W.  A.  Shanklin  and  A.  B. 
Sanford  were  designated  to  name  this  com- 
mittee. It  was  ordered  that  a  telegram  of 
sympathy  be  immediately  sent  to  Mrs.  Win- 
chester. 

The  committee  on  a  minute  for  the  Jour- 
nal concerning  Professor  C.  T.  Winchester 
was  announced  by  W.  A.  Shanklin,  as  fol- 
lows: G.  P.  Mains,  F.  M.  North,  D.  G. 
Downey,  W.  E.  Scofield,  F.  B.  Upham, 
222 


RESOLUTIONS 

F.  W.  Hannan,  J.  W.  Langdale,  W.  B. 
Maskiell. 

Tuesday,  March  30,  1920. 

Death  of  Professor  C.  T.  Winchester. — 
The  following  resolution  on  the  death  of 
Professor  C.  T.  Winchester,  of  Wesleyan 
University,  was  presented  by  F.  B.  Upham 
for  the  special  committee,  and  was  unani- 
mously adopted  by  a  rising  vote : 

The  New  York  East  Conference,  having  heard 
with  profound  sorrow  of  the  death  of  Caleb 
Thomas  Winchester,  LL.D.,  for  nearly  fifty  years 
professor  of  English  literature  in  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity, hereby  lovingly  records  its  admiration 
for  his  unsurpassed  ability  in  the  field  of  his  activ- 
ity, its  pride  in  his  distinguished  achievements, 
giving  a  name  and  a  place  among  American  uni- 
versities to  the  college  he  loved,  and  its  gratitude 
for  the  singular  charm  and  beauty  of  a  life  pure 
in  word  and  deed,  "without  fear  and  without  re- 
proach." 

His  memory  will  ever  be  cherished  wherever  his 
alma  mater  is  known  and  loved,  and  wherever 
among  us  English  literature  is  studied  for  its 
beauty  and  its  strength.  With  gratitude  to  God 
that  we  have  been  permitted  to  claim  anything  of 
gracious  intimacy  with  him  and  anything  of 
guidance  at  his  hand,  we  enter  this  minute  ex- 
pressing our  esteem  and  sorrow. 

223 


RESOLUTIONS       ADOPTED      BY 
THE  OFFICIAL  BOARD  OF  THE 
FIRST  METHODIST  EPISCO- 
PAL CHURCH,  MIDDLE- 
TOWN,  CONNECTICUT 

THE  official  board  of  the  First  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  Middletown,  Connec- 
ticut, deem  it  fitting  to  record  their  profound 
sense  of  the  loss  which  the  church  has  suf- 
fered in  the  death  of  Caleb  Thomas  Win- 
chester, professor  of  English  literature  in 
Wesleyan  University.  Professor  Winches- 
ter's high  scholarship  in  his  chosen  depart- 
ment, his  inspiring  qualities  as  a  teacher,  his 
ability  as  lecturer  and  author,  won  for  him 
high  fame  in  literary  and  educational  circles. 
The  honor  which  he  worthily  gained  was  a 
help  to  the  influence  and  usefulness  of  the 
church  with  which  he  was  connected. 

But  at  present  our  thought  is  occupied 
especially,  not  with  his  literary  achievements 
and  his  influence  in  educational  life,  but  with 
his  relation  to  the  church  of  which  he  was  a 
member  for  more  than  half  a  century.  Pro- 
fessor Winchester  first  made  public  profes- 
224 


RESOLUTIONS 

sion  of  his  allegiance  to  Christ  while  a  stu- 
dent in  the  academy  at  Wilbraham,  of  which 
at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  president  of 
the  board  of  trustees.  He  was  deeply  inter- 
ested not  only  in  the  life  and  work  of  the 
local  church  but  in  the  general  life  and  work 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
home  land  and  in  the  mission  field.  In  1904 
he  was  a  member  of  the  General  Conference. 
He  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  Meth- 
odist Review,  The  Christian  Advocate,  and 
Zion's  Herald.  While  many  of  his  articles 
dealt  with  literary  topics,  the  themes  of 
others  related  to  the  life  and  work  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  He  was  a 
most  influential  member  of  the  commission 
which  edited  the  last  and  best  of  the  hymnals 
which  have  been  prepared  for  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  The  hymnal  from  which 
we  gain  so  much  inspiration  in  our  church 
services  is  to  us  a  memorial  of  Professor 
Winchester.  He  was  the  author  of  one 
hymn  and  of  one  tune  in  the  collection.  But 
the  excellence  of  the  book  as  a  whole  is 
largely  due  to  his  sound  judgment  and  fine 
literary  taste. 

In  our  week-night  prayer  meetings  his 
225 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

voice  in  prayer  and  song  and  testimony  was 
always  helpful  and  inspiring.  While  he 
was  constant  in  his  attendance  and  helpful 
in  his  participation  in  our  ordinary  services, 
his  wide  knowledge,  his  sympathy  with  all 
human  interests,  his  eloquence,  and  at  times 
his  genial  humor  made  it  a  delight  to  listen 
to  him  in  lectures  and  addresses  on  various 
special  occasions  connected  with  the  work 
of  the  church.  The  brilliant  pageant  which 
illustrated  our  centennial  celebration  owed 
much  to  his  appreciation  of  church  history 
and  to  his  dramatic  skill.  His  great  gifts 
were  always  at  the  service  of  the  church  that 
he  loved.  But  greater  than  all  gifts  are  the 
graces  which  he  exemplified  in  his  life.  We 
are  grateful  for  the  memory  of  his  humble 
faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  his  broth- 
erly love  to  all  who  were  associated  with 
him  in  the  fellowship  of  the  church.  Our 
profound  sympathy  is  with  Mrs.  Winches- 
ter and  other  members  of  his  family  in  their 
bereavement.  May  the  faith  in  the  heav- 
enly Father  and  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
which  inspired  the  life  of  him  who  has  gone 
before  be  their  comfort. 


226 


RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED  BY  THE 
CONVERSATIONAL  CLUB, 
MIDDLETOWN,  CONNEC- 
TICUT 

IN  the  death  of  Caleb  Thomas  Winches- 
ter, professor  of  English  literature  in  Wes- 
leyan  University,  the  Conversational  Club 
has  lost  a  member  prominent  in  the  respect 
and  love  of  his  associates. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  Professor  Win- 
chester was  almost  at  the  head  of  the  roll  of 
members  in  the  order  of  seniority,  having 
been  a  member  for  a  little  more  than  half 
a  century. 

We  always  listened  with  delight  and  ad- 
miration to  the  papers  which  he  presented. 
Naturally  his  papers  were  mostly  on  sub- 
jects relating  to  the  literature  of  our  Eng- 
lish language.  They  were  characterized  by 
an  intensely  human  interest.  The  authors 
whom  he  loved  were  his  friends  and  com- 
panions. He  introduced  us  into  their  friend- 
ship, and  our  lives  were  made  richer  by  that 
fellowship.  His  criticisms  were  eminently 
characterized  by  sanity.  His  exposures  of 
227 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

literary  abnormalities  and  monstrosities 
were  as  interesting  as  they  were  wholesome. 
In  the  Conversational  Club  we  had  the  first 
hearing  of  many  interesting  studies  subse- 
quently given  to  a  larger  public  in  popular 
lectures  or  in  publications.  His  papers, 
however,  were  by  no  means  exclusively  lit- 
erary. They  covered  a  considerable  range 
of  subjects,  especially  philosophical  and  reli- 
gious. Whatever  might  be  the  topic,  his 
papers  had  the  same  characteristic  charm  of 
a  style  simple,  transparently  clear,  remark- 
able alike  for  elegance  and  force.  He  was 
not  only  a  good  talker,  but  also  a  good  lis- 
tener. He  was  interested  in  the  discussions 
of  the  club,  and  his  utterances  were  always 
words  fitly  spoken. 

He  was  a  most  delightful  participant  in 
the  social  life  of  the  club.  His  genial  humor 
enlivened  our  conversations.  His  genuine 
kindliness  of  spirit  was  a  delight  to  all.  He 
was  eminently  a  clubable  man. 

His  purity  and  sincerity  of  character  al- 
ways and  everywhere  commanded  respect. 
He  publicly  professed  allegiance  to  Christ 
and  to  the  Christian  church  before  the  begin- 
ning of  his  college  life.  He  was  ever  loyal 
228 


RESOLUTIONS 

to  that  branch  of  the  Christian  church  of 
which  he  was  a  member  by  inheritance  and 
by  choice.  But  he  was  always  in  hearty 
sympathy  with  all  phases  of  life  and  thought 
wherein  the  true  spirit  of  Christianity  found 
expression.  He  was  a  loyal  and  public-spir- 
ited citizen.  He  was  profoundly  interested 
in  every  movement  for  the  betterment  of  any 
phase  of  human  life.  To  him  nothing  human 
was  alien.  His  life  was  an  example  of  obe- 
dience to  the  two  great  commandments  of 
love  to  God  and  love  to  man. 

Our  hearty  sympathy  is  with  the  members 
of  his  family  in  their  bereavement;  but, 
amid  their  grief  for  one  so  loving  and  so 
loved,  theirs  is  the  priceless  treasure  of  the 
abiding  memory  of  a  pure  and  noble  and 
fruitful  life. 
April  12,  1920. 

WILLIAM  NORTH  RICE, 
AZEL  WASHBURN  HAZEN. 
WILLIAM  EDWARD  MEAD. 


229 


PERSONAL    TRIBUTES    TO    PRO- 
FESSOR WINCHESTER 

IN  addition  to  the  expressions  of  appre- 
ciation recorded  elsewhere  in  this  volume  it 
seems  fitting  that  from  the  mass  of  letters 
and  telegrams  received  from  friends  and 
former  students,  either  by  Professor  Win- 
chester himself  at  the  time  of  the  compli- 
mentary dinner  or  by  Mrs.  Winchester  af- 
ter Professor  Winchester's  death,  a  few 
should  be  chosen  for  permanent  record  in 
this  place. 

The  following  have  been  selected  from  the 
large  number  of  telegrams : 

The  White  House,  Washington,  D.  C., 
March  27,  1920. 
MRS.  CALEB  WINCHESTER, 
Middletown,  Conn. 

May  I  not  express  my  heartfelt  sympathy  for 
you  in  the  loss  of  your  husband,  for  whom  I  had 
the  most  affectionate  esteem. 

WOODROW  WILSON. 
[Professor  in  Wesleyan  University,  1888-1890.] 

230 


RESOLUTIONS 

New  York,  March  24,  1920. 

MRS.  C.  T.  WINCHESTER, 
Middletown,  Conn. 

Please  accept  our  affectionate  sympathy  in 
this  hour  of  great  sorrow.  Wesleyan  men  every- 
where will  mourn  with  you  the  loss  of  our  dear 
friend  and  leader. 

JOHN  C.  CLARK. 

[Wesleyan  '86,  President  of  Board  of  Trustees,  Wesleyan 
University.] 

Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  March  25,  1920. 

MRS.  C.  T.  WINCHESTER, 
Middletown,  Conn. 

Of  all  the  men  I  have  been  privileged  to  know 
no  one  has  ever  claimed  a  larger  part  of  my  ad- 
miration and  affection  than  Professor  Winchester. 
I  am  thankful  for  his  most  helpful  influence  over 
my  life.  Mrs.  Burt  joins  me  in  heartfelt  sympa- 
thy in  this  hour  of  your  sorrow. 

WILLIAM  BURT. 
[Wesleyam  '79,  Bishop  of  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.] 

Lawrenceville,  N.  J.,  March  26,  1920. 

MRS.  C.  T.  WINCHESTER, 
Middletown,  Conn. 

Have  just  learned  of  the  passing  on  of  dear 
Professor  Winchester.  Cannot  adequately  ex- 
press our  sense  of  great  and  irreparable  loss.  He 
was  beloved  by  us  as  teacher,  friend,  scholar,  man. 

231 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

His  life  was  an  unfailing  inspiration.    Accept  our 
sincere  sympathy. 

CHARLES  HENRY  RAYMOND,  '77. 
CHARLES  HARLOW  RAYMOND,  '99. 

North  Wilbraham,  Mass.,  March  24,  1920. 

MRS.  C.  T.  WINCHESTER, 
Middletown,  Conn. 

Mrs.  Douglass  joins  me  in  loving  sympathy, 
tender  thoughts,  and  earnest  prayers  for  your 
comfort  and  strength.  We  feel  very  deeply  the 
sorrow  which  has  come  to  you  and  to  us.  Wil- 
braham has  lost  its  greatest  friend  and  most  lov- 
ing and  loyal  son. 

GAYLORD  W.  DOUGLASS, 
[Wesleyan  '00,  Headmaster,  Wilbraham  Academy.] 

At  the  time  of  the  complimentary  dinner, 
Professor  Winchester  received  letters  of 
most  grateful  appreciation  from  a  large 
number  of  his  former  students.  As  an  il- 
lustration of  those  received  from  his  pupils 
who  have  followed  him  in  the  career  of  teach- 
ing literature,  the  following  extract  from  a 
letter  by  Frederick  William  Roe,  '97,  As- 
sociate Professor  of  English  and  Junior 
Dean  of  the  College  of  Letters  and  Science 
in  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  may  be 
quoted: 

232 


RESOLUTIONS 

My  heart  will  be  with  you  all,  just  the  same. 
As  the  years  have  come  and  gone  since  I  have 
graduated  (now  twenty-two  years  ago!)  I  have 
had  an  increasingly  clear  perception  of  what  your 
teaching  has  meant  to  me.  Yours  was  one  of  the 
voices  at  Wesleyan  in  those  years  that  went  to  my 
inmost  heart  and  awakened  or  created  ideals  and 
interests  that  have  kept  me  going  ever  since — 
however  far  short  of  the  goal  I  have  come !  Your 
teaching  of  literature,  your  opening  to  us  boys 
of  the  magic  doors  of  English  poetry,  and  all 
poetry — who  that  have  ever  been  in  your  classes 
will  ever  forget  the  charm  and  power  of  that  teach- 
ing? Your  interpretation  of  Chaucer  and 
Spenser,  of  Wordsworth  and  Keats,  and,  most  of 
all,  your  reading  of  them,  have  made  it  forever 
impossible  for  us  to  love  any  but  the  masters. 
Surely  Newman's  voice  could  not  have  meant  more 
to  Arnold  in  his  undergraduate  years  than  yours 
has  meant  to  hundreds  of  us  Wesleyan  men  who 
have  been  fortunate  enough  to  come  under  your 
instruction. 

It  is  a  very  great  pleasure  to  acknowledge  the 
privilege  of  this  instruction,  especially  upon  the 
occasion  of  the  Winchester  dinner.  With  all  my 
heart  I  congratulate  you  upon  the  completion  of 
a  long  and  distinguished  service  to  Wesleyan,  to 
the  profession  of  teaching,  and  (may  I  say  it 
again?)  to  the  teaching  of  poetry, — poetry  with 
its  beauty  and  its  noble  criticism  of  life. 

That  Professor  Winchester  was  also  ap- 
233 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

predated  by  those  who  were  permitted  to 
take  but  a  single  course  with  him  is  typically 
illustrated  in  the  following  extract  from  a 
letter  written  by  Edward  Loranus  Rice,  '92, 
Professor  of  Zoology  in  Ohio  Wesleyan 
University: 

I  look  back  to  your  course  in  "Junior  Lit."  as 
an  ideal  course,  although,  as  you  know,  my  special 
interests  then,  as  now,  were  in  very  different  lines. 
Did  you  know  that  that  course  of  yours  was  the 
only  non-scientific  elective  I  took  in  Wesleyan? 
And  I  was  mighty  proud  that  I  was  eligible  for 
your  senior  course,  although  my  schedule  was  so 
full  that  I  could  not  take  the  course. 

Another  expression  from  one  of  Profes- 
sor Winchester's  pupils  who  has  since  gradu- 
ation been  engaged  in  the  teaching  of  litera- 
ture and  who  was  for  a  brief  time  a  colleague 
of  Professor  Winchester  in  the  department 
of  English  in  Wesleyan  University,  is  con- 
tained in  the  following  extract  from  a  letter 
written  after  Professor  Winchester's  death 
by  George  Wiley  Sherburn,  '06,  Assistant 
Professor  of  English  in  the  University  of 
Chicago : 

Certainly  I  have  not  said  as  often  as  I  should 
how  entirely  my  progress  as  a  student  and  a 

234 


RESOLUTIONS 

teacher  has  been  due  to  him.  I  shall  never  have 
any  other  human  model  than  Professor  Winches- 
ter. For  me  he  is  and  will  be  the  ideal  combina- 
tion of  scholarship,  teaching  ability,  and  person- 
ality. I  hope  I  shall  continue  to  take  every  oppor- 
tunity to  come  back  to  Wesleyan;  but  with  Pro- 
fessor Winchester  gone,  the  main  pleasure  of 
coming  will  no  longer  be  there. 

You  must  find  some  comfort  for  your  great  loss 
in  his  magnificent  achievement.  When  Sir  Wal- 
ter Raleigh,  who  is  or  was  Professor  at  Oxford, 
visited  Chicago  two  or  three  years  ago,  he  told  a 
group  of  our  English  professors  here  that  Mr. 
Winchester  was  the  most  interesting  man  he  had 
met  in  America — and  he  had  met  about  all  that 
America  had  to  offer  in  our  profession.1 
You  must  also  find  consolation  in  the  fact  that 
Professor  Winchester  was  prepared  to  go  and 
worthy  to  be  taken.  I  have  never  known  a  nobler, 
more  dignified  Christian. 

Perhaps  no  letter  of  sympathy  reveals 
more  clearly  Professor  Winchester  in  his 

1  At  a  dinner  given  in  honor  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  at  Brown 
University,  Professor  Winchester,  in  offering  his  toast,  quoted 
Shakespeare's  lines, 

He  hates  him 

That  would  upon  the  rack  of  this  tough  world 
Stretch  him  out  longer. 

This  allusion  to  Sir  Walter's  stature  was  the  hit  of  the 
evening  and  was  enjoyed  by  none  more  than  by  the  eminent 
English  scholar  himself 

235 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

everyday  life  than  does  the  one  written  by 
Mr.  Adrian  R.  Dunn,  the  postman  who  met 
him  daily  for  many  years: 

Personally  I  would  extend  to  you  my  tribute 
to  the  Christian  gentleman  who  has  passed  on ;  to 
him  I  owe  the  remembrance  of  many  a  happy  time, 
when  it  would  be  my  good  fortune  to  meet  him 
while  on  my  route  as  a  letter-carrier.  Always 
kind;  always  fair;  always  just;  always  ready  to 
impart  needed  information  to  one  who  was  of  an 
inquiring  mind;  I  pray  God  to  receive  him  and 
make  him  happy  in  that  home  where  we  will  all 
expect  to  meet  some  day. 

The  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
the  University  at  the  time  of  Professor  Win- 
chester's death  was  the  Honorable  John 
Cheesman  Clark  of  the  class  of  1886.  A 
double  interest,  therefore,  attaches  to  the 
following  tribute  from  him: 

Of  the  men  who  have  passed  their  undergradu- 
ate days  at  Wesleyan  University  since  Professor 
Caleb  T.  Winchester  became  a  member  of  its  fac- 
ulty, there  are  few  who  fail  to  recognize  his  pro- 
found influence  upon  their  later  years.  His  broad 
scholarship,  his  rare  refinement,  his  unfailing  cour- 
tesy and  consideration,  his  appreciation  of  all  that 
is  elevating  and  ennobling  in  literature  and  his 
ability  to  inspire  in  his  students  the  same  sympa- 

236 


RESOLUTIONS 

thetic  understanding,  made  his  classrooms  mem- 
ories to  be  treasured  for  a  lifetime.  I  knew  and 
admired  him  while  I  was  a  student  and  I  have 
known  and  admired  him  since  I  have  been  an  offi- 
cer of  the  college.  There  never  was  in  the  mind 
of  any  man  a  doubt  of  his  motives,  a  question  of 
his  honor,  or  a  suspicion  of  his  loyalty  to  truth 
and  duty.  He  stood  by  his  Alma  Mater  when 
personal  considerations  might  have  led  him  into 
more  ambitious  surroundings.  He  loved  his  work 
and  he  loved  his  college  and  to  them  he  gave  his 
life  in  unstinted  measure. 

Among  my  personal  memories  of  Professor  Win- 
chester is  an  incident  in  one  of  his  class  rooms. 
During  my  junior  year  in  college  I  had  a  severe 
attack  of  pneumonia  and  was  absent  from  classes 
for  a  number  of  weeks.  Within  a  few  days  after 
my  return  to  the  class  in  English  literature  there 
was  an  oral  review  during  the  course  of  which  I 
was  called  upon  to  illustrate  some  quality  of 
William  Cowper,  whose  poems  had  been  studied 
during  my  absence.  Rather  than  admit  my  en- 
tire lack  of  familiarity  with  the  poems,  I  quoted 
a  verse  from  the  hymn,  "God  moves  in  a  mysteri- 
ous way  his  wonders  to  perform."  This  amused 
several  of  my  classmates,  but  Professor  Winches- 
ter, realizing  the  situation,  immediately  quoted 
the  remainder  of  the  hymn,  and  added  to  it  verse 
after  verse  of  Cowper's  hymns  and  poems,  with 
sympathetic  and  inspiring  comments  during  the 
rest  of  the  hour,  until  he  made  William  Cowper's 
237 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

\ 

life  and  poems  a  lasting  influence  upon  the 
thoughts  and  lives  of  the  men  who  were  before 
him. 

It  is  a  composite  of  such  incidents  that  I  have 
in  mind  when  I  look  back  upon  the  fortunate 
years  of  my  friendship  with  Professor  Winches- 
ter. He  was  to  me  a  dear  friend,  an  inspiring 
teacher,  a  rare  and  sympathetic  spirit,  and  an 
ideal  gentleman. 


238 


EDITORIALS 

AND   OTHER 

PRESS  NOTICES 


EXTRACT  FROM  THE  CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE, 
NEW  YORK,  JUNE  26,  1919 

VICTORY    COMMENCEMENT    AT 
OLD  WESLEYAN 

WESLEYAN  UNIVERSITY'S  victory  com- 
mencement, June  19-23,  brought  back  to  the 
historic  campus  in  Middletown  the  largest 
gathering  of  alumni  ever  assembled  in  the 
history  of  the  college. 

The  central  figures  were  Professor  Caleb 
T.  Winchester  and  Major-General  Leonard 
Wood.  They  represented  the  two  ideas  that 
dominated  the  festivities.  Professor  Win- 
chester, honored  and  beloved  by  all  Wes- 
leyan  men,  completes  this  June  his  fiftieth 
year  as  an  alumnus,  and  in  his  semi-centen- 
nial celebration  the  whole  college  joined 
enthusiastically,  not  only  because  of  his  liter- 
ary distinction,  but  also  because  of  the  af- 
fection that  he  has  won  from  all  the  alumni. 
The  dinner  in  his  honor,  on  Friday  night, 
demonstrated  that  this  great  teacher  per- 
sonifies all  that  is  best  in  Wesleyan  tradi- 
tions and  ideals.  General  Wood,  speaking 
241 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

at  the  victory  rally,  on  Saturday  afternoon, 
represented  Wesleyan's  pride  in  the  impor- 
tant part  taken  by  her  men  in  the  war,  the 
general  rejoicing  over  victory,  and  the  honor 
that  the  college  would  do  to  her  sons  return- 
ing from  the  service  and  to  those  who  died 
in  the  war.  For  these  latter  a  special  me- 
morial service,  on  Sunday  evening,  was  ad- 
dressed by  Dr.  George  P.  Eckman. 

At  the  commencement  exercises  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws  was  conferred  upon  Ma- 
jor-General  Wood  and  Professor  Winches- 
ter, and  also  upon  Rear  Admiral  Leigh  Car- 
lyle  Palmer  and  Governor  Marcus  H. 
Holcomb,  war  Governor  of  Connecticut. 


242 


THE  WESLEYAN  ALUMNUS,,  APBIL,  1920 

FIFTY    CLASSES    MOURN    WES- 
LEYAN'S  LOSS:  "WINCH"- 
TEACHER,  SCHOLAR,  MAN. 

FEW  men  have  served  Wesleyan  better 
than  Caleb  Thomas  Winchester.  He  gave 
to  the  college  a  half  century  of  devotion. 
But  Professor  Winchester  had  an  even 
greater  commission  than  that  which  he  dis- 
charged in  Middletown.  He  was  a  disciple 
of  God  and  the  patient  teacher  and  sympa- 
thetic friend  of  all  mankind.  When  we 
think  of  the  achievements  of  Wesleyan  and 
the  men  who  have  been  responsible  for  many 
of  these  achievements,  three  names  present 
themselves  immediately — Van  Vleck,  Rice, 
and  Winchester — these,  who  came  to  the  old 
college  as  recruits,  have  been  directly  respon- 
sible for  her  primacy  to-day.  Professor 
Winchester  was  one  of  those  men  who 
"made"  Wesleyan. 

The  Olin  Professor  of  English  Literature, 
who  was  one  of  the  two  oldest  and  best- 
known  members  of  Wesleyan's  faculty,  was 
73  years  old.  Last  December  he  was  stricken 
243 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

with  a  paralytic  shock  from  which  he 
never  fully  recovered.  For  a  time  the  at- 
tending physicians  thought  his  condition  was 
improving,  but  his  heart  failed  him  at  the 
last.  Then,  in  the  quiet  peacefulness  of  the 
early  evening  of  March  24,  this  best-loved 
professor,  whose  constant  affection  for  the 
college  and  loyalty  to  its  ideals  have  been  one 
of  its  greatest  assets,  passed  silently  away. 
The  immediate  family,  including  Mrs.  Win- 
chester and  his  son,  Julian  Caleb  Winches- 
ter, were  at  the  bedside  when  the  end  came. 

"Winch,"  as  he  was  affectionately  called 
by  all  who  knew  him,  was  brought  up  in  a 
strong,  wholesome  moral  and  intellectual 
environment.  He  was  born  in  Uncasville, 
Connecticut,  on  January  18,  1847,  the  son 
of  Rev.  George  F.  Winchester.  Both  his 
father  and  grandfather  were  Methodist 
ministers. 

Throughout  his  years  of  schooling,  Pro- 
fessor Winchester  was  a  student  of  high 
standing.  He  prepared  for  college  at  Wes- 
leyan  Academy,  Wilbraham,  Massachusetts, 
a  school  which  has  continued  to  hold  his  af- 
fectionate interest.  For  eight  years  prior  to 
his  death,  Professor  Winchester  was  presi- 
244 


PRESS  NOTICES 

dent  of  the  board  of  trustees.  He  was  gen- 
erous in  his  gifts  to  the  Academy  as  well  as 
in  the  unselfishness  of  his  leadership. 

Graduating  from  Wesleyan  Academy  in 
1865,  Professor  Winchester  entered  Wes- 
leyan University,  where  his  scholastic  and 
literary  work  was  always  of  the  highest 
type.  Speaking  of  Professor  Winchester's 
orations  at  evening  chapel  during  his  senior 
year,  Professor  Rice  has  said,  "There  was 
one  man  in  that  senior  class  whose  orations 
had  a  maturity  of  thought  and  an  exquisite 
beauty  of  language  which  an  undergraduate 
very  seldom  attains.  Some  of  the  thoughts 
and  some  fine  turns  of  expression  impressed 
themselves  upon  my  memory,  and  remain  to 
this  day." 

Professor  Winchester  was  one  of  the  ear- 
liest editors  of  the  Wesleyan  Argus  and 
contributed  much  toward  the  successful 
launching  of  the  publication.  He  was  also 
deeply  interested  in  all  forms  of  music ;  with 
three  classmates,  he  organized  a  most  suc- 
cessful quartet,  out  of  which  Wesleyan's 
Glee  Club  later  developed.  He  received  his 
bachelor's  degree  with  the  class  of  1869  with 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  rank,  and  his  master's  de- 
245 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

gree  in  1872.  A  member  of  Psi  Upsilon,  he 
remained  throughout  the  long  years  one  of 
the  most  faithful  and  loyal  of  the  members 
of  that  fraternity. 

The  first  official  capacity  in  which  Profes- 
sor Winchester  served  Wesleyan  was  that 
of  college  librarian.  He  was  appointed  to 
this  position  upon  graduation  and  served  un- 
til 1873,  when,  at  the  age  of  27,  he  was 
elected  to  the  professorship  of  rhetoric  and 
literature.  In  1880  and  1881  he  studied  at 
the  University  of  Leipsic,  Germany.  He 
returned  to  Wesleyan,  and  in  1890  his  title 
became  Olin  Professor  of  English  Litera- 
ture. 

Professor  William  North  Rice,  in  an  ad- 
dress delivered  at  the  Winchester  dinner, 
June,  1919,  said,  "I  think  it  is  fortunate  that 
Professor  Winchester  has  served  continu- 
ously in  one  position.  Years  ago  he  had  an 
opportunity  to  go  to  a  great  university  on  a 
larger  salary  than  he  has  ever  received  here. 
But  I  believe  that  he  has  achieved  a  greater 
and  more  enduring  usefulness  by  building 
his  life  into  the  college  which  he  has  loved." 
It  is  true  that  Wesleyan  has  ever  been  Pro- 
fessor Winchester's  chief  center  of  interest. 
246 


PRESS  NOTICES 

In  his  death  the  sons  of  Wesleyan  have  lost 
a  true  friend,  for  "Winch"  drew  men  to  him 
with  a  rare  winsomeness,  and  always  re- 
tained the  friendship  of  those  who  were  un- 
der his  instruction. 

Besides  being  president  of  the  board 
of  trustees  of  Wilbraham  Academy,  Pro- 
fessor Winchester  held  several  positions  of 
distinction.  In  1904  he  was  a  member  of 
the  committee  for  the  revision  of  the  Meth- 
odist Hymnal.  Between  1890  and  1900  he 
gave  the  Donovan  lectures  on  English  liter- 
ature in  Johns  Hopkins  University,  and  he 
also  lectured  annually  for  twenty -five  years 
at  Wells  College.  Dickinson  College  con- 
ferred the  degree  of  L.H.D.  upon  him  in 
1892,  and  in  1919,  on  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  his  graduation  from  Wesleyan,  his  alma 
mater  honored  him  with  the  degree  of 
LL.D. 

Some  of  Professor  Winchester's  books  on 
criticism  are  used  in  various  schools  and  col- 
leges throughout  the  country.  Much  of  his 
best  literary  work  was  never  published, 
for  he  always  wished  to  reserve  the  best 
that  was  in  him  for  classroom  and  lectures. 
His  few  published  works,  however,  are  of 
247 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

the  highest  merit.  Among  them  are:  Five 
Short  Courses  of  Reading  in  English  Liter- 
ature, published  in  1891 ;  Some  Principles  of 
Literary  Criticism,  1899;  A  Life  of  John 
Wesley,  1906 ;  A  Group  of  English  Essay- 
ists, 1910;  A  Book  of  English  Essays, 
1914;  The  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  Papers, 
1904;  and  Wordsworth:  How  to  Know 
Him,  1916. 

Professor  Winchester's  first  wife,  Julia 
Stackpole  Smith,  of  Middletown,  whom  he 
married  on  December  25,  1872,  died  June 
25,  1877.  On  April  2,  1880,  he  married 
Alice  Goodwin  Smith,  who  survives  him, 
with  his  son,  one  brother,  George,  of  Pater- 
son,  N.  J.,  and  a  sister,  Miss  Fannie  Win- 
chester, of  Fairhaven,  Massachusetts. 

The  following  appreciations  written  by 
alumni  of  four  different  generations  give 
some  insight  into  the  affection  of  all  Wes- 
leyan  graduates  for  their  great  teacher  and 
loyal  friend: 

FIFTY-FIVE  YEARS  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

I  have  been  invited  to  write  a  few  words 
in  relation  to  Professor  Winchester's  early 
years  in  Wesleyan. 

248 


AFTER  THE  1919  COMMENCEMENT 


PRESS  NOTICES 

His  senior  year  in  college  was  the  first 
year  of  my  teaching.  His  literary  work  in 
student  days  showed  a  maturity  of  thought 
and  a  power  of  expression  which  for  an  un- 
dergraduate were  phenomenal.  I  remem- 
ber distinctly  an  oration  on  Oliver  Gold- 
smith, in  which  he  showed  that  same  power 
of  bringing  his  hearers  into  acquaintance  and 
friendship  with  the  authors  whom  he  loved 
which  has  characterized  the  lectures  of  his 
later  years. 

Professor  Winchester's  first  official  ap- 
pointment in  Wesleyan  was  as  librarian.  I 
think  the  first  class  which  he  taught  was  a 
class  in  Homer.  In  those  days  the  members 
of  our  little  faculty  did  various  odd  jobs 
and  helped  where  help  was  needed.  Win- 
chester's interest  in  the  great  epic  was,  of 
course,  on  the  literary  rather  than  on  the 
linguistic  side.  He  assisted  in  the  work  of 
the  department  of  English  before  his  ap- 
pointment in  1873  to  the  professorship  which 
he  has  made  illustrious.  His  introductory 
course  in  English  literature  was  from  the  be- 
ginning the  most  uniformly  popular  elective 
in  the  curriculum.  The  more  advanced  elec- 
tives  offered  in  the  department  were  eagerly 
249 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

sought  by  the  men  of  literary  taste  and 
genius. 

I  remember  well  the  first  of  the  brilliant 
public  lectures  on  English  literature  which 
gave  Professor  Winchester  a  popular  rep- 
utation. It  was  on  "London,  a  Hundred 
Years  Ago,"  and  was  delivered  in  the  chapel 
of  the  Methodist  church  of  Middletown.  On 
that  occasion  the  lecture  was  illustrated  by 
charcoal  drawings  from  the  hand  of  Mrs. 
Winchester. 

Professor  Winchester  was  primarily  and 
chiefly  a  writer  of  prose,  but  even  in  his  stu- 
dent days  he  showed  the  power  to  write 
poetry  of  real  merit.  When  Judd  Hall  was 
dedicated  in  1871,  he  wrote  for  the  occasion 
the  noble  hymn, 

The  Lord  our  God  alone  is  strong. 

That  hymn  is  included  in  the  two  latest 
hymnals  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
In  its  simple  dignity  it  reminds  the  reader 
of  that  noble  hymn  of  Watts, 

O  God,  our  help  in  ages  past, 

which  Winchester  has  characterized  as  the 
stateliest  hymn  in  the  English  language. 
250 


PRESS  NOTICES 

The  half -century  of  Professor  Winches- 
ter's service  in  Wesleyan  University  was  a 
half -century  of  growing  power  and  achieve- 
ment. But  no  preternatural  gift  of  proph- 
ecy was  needed  to  see  in  the  Winchester  of 
1869  the  Winchester  of  1919. 

WILLIAM  NORTH  RICE,  '65. 

THE  BELOVED  TEACHER 

He  has  passed  away,  but  he  has  left  behind 

A  store  of  memories,  that,  in  the  mind 

Of  those  who  loved  him,  ne'er  forgot  shall  be. 

We  think  of  those  dear,  far-off  days,  when  we 

Sat  at  his  feet,  our  teacher  and  our  friend, 

And  felt  the  influence  that  ne'er  shall  end. 

We  see  his  kindly  face,  we  hear  his  voice, 

We  feel  the  charm  that  made  our  hearts  rejoice. 

O,  in  the  days  and  years  that  are  to  be, 

More  precious  still  shall  grow  his  memory, 

Beloved  teacher,  he  who  turned  our  eyes 

Toward  the  beauty  that  around  us  lies. 

Long  in  the  lives  of  others  shall  go  on 

The  work  he  did,  though  he  himself  be  gone. 

— OSCAR  KUHNS,  '85. 

IN  His  PRIME 

When  I  entered  college  Professor  Win- 
chester was  barely  forty  years  of  age,  but  he 
251 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

already  possessed  a  national  reputation  as 
scholar  and  critic  and  commanded  the  en- 
thusiastic admiration  of  all  his  students.  I 
do  not  think  that  our  feelings  toward  him 
were  very  different  from  what  they  are  to- 
day, as  we  look  back  over  his  rich  and  noble 
life,  except  that  the  years  have  given  depth 
and  significance  to  our  gratitude  and  ap- 
preciation. 

We  were  impressed,  first  of  all,  by  his 
learning,  not  as  something  remote  and  for- 
eign, but  as  something  brought  home  to  us 
for  our  use  and  benefit.  With  the  greatest 
modesty,  without  a  hint  of  display,  he  yet 
made  us  aware  of  the  thoroughness,  the  dis- 
crimination, the  ripeness,  and  the  authority 
of  his  scholarship.  Then,  there  was  his  mas- 
tery of  the  English  language.  That  style 
so  clear  and  fine,  that  diction  fastidious  but 
masculine,  which  we  have  admired  in  his 
books  and  essays,  were  felt  in  every  word 
that  he  spoke  in  the  classroom.  He  invited 
us  to  feast  upon  the  best  he  had,  and  even 
we  boys  could  appreciate  the  richness  and 
delicacy  of  the  banquet. 

As  a  teacher  and  a  man  he  was,  of  course, 
closer  to  us  than  as  a  lecturer  and  scholar. 
252 


PRESS  NOTICES 

We  felt  that  he  belonged  to  us,  that  he  was 
a  very  real  force  in  our  lives.  He  was  all 
kindness  and  generosity  and  sympathy.  He 
opened  his  library  to  us,  gave  his  evenings 
to  reading  with  us,  and  always  had  a  word 
of  encouragement  for  any  honest  effort. 

With  all  his  kindness  and  modesty  he  had 
the  quality  of  dignity.  He  never  made  a 
bid  for  popularity;  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  stoop.  He  had  a  sense  of  his  high 
calling,  of  the  responsibilities  and  duties  of 
a  teacher.  No  boy  was  impertinent  enough 
to  dream  of  taking  a  liberty  with  him.  His 
humor  had  its  dignity ;  it  could  be  dry,  caus- 
tic, even  withering  toward  pretentiousness, 
but  it  was  also  sage  and  genial.  Those  quiet 
asides,  which  penetrated  a  character,  or  illu- 
mined a  situation,  or  pricked  a  bubble — we 
watched  for  them  eagerly,  repeated  and 
treasured  them.  How  much  of  our  subse- 
quent knowledge  of  literature  and  of  men 
rests  on  some  of  those  obiter  dicta! 

Was  it  this  humor  which  made  literature 
alive  for  his  classes  of  boys?  Partly,  no 
doubt,  but  mainly  I  think  the  idealism  which 
was  so  vital  in  his  philosophy,  his  faith,  and 
his  life.  Could  a  man  better  exemplify  the 
253 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

great  ideal  of  a  teacher?  He  crowded  his 
mind  with  the  best  that  has  been  known  and 
said,  he  enriched  it  with  the  literature  that 
is  so  large  a  part  of  our  spiritual  treasury, 
in  order  that  he  might  give  freely  and  unre- 
servedly from  his  wealth  to  his  students. 
Few  men  have  done  so  much  to  guide  young 
Americans  to  a  love  of  good  literature  and 
of  better  living. 

ASHLEY  HORACE  THORNDIKE,  '93. 

THE  LEADER  AND  FRIEND 

I  am  adding  my  small  bit  of  halting  trib- 
ute, not  to  Professor  Winchester,  the  dis- 
tinguished man  of  letters,  the  great  teacher, 
and  the  pride  of  Wesleyan  for  half  a  cen- 
tury— others  can  do  that  more  competently 
and  more  gracefully  than  I  —  but  to 
"Winch,"  as  the  younger  generation  knew 
him,  the  man,  the  beloved  teacher,  and  the 
friend. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  know  him  outside 
the  classroom  and  even  away  from  the  Wes- 
leyan environment,  of  which  he  seemed  so 
much  a  part.  He  was  the  same  courteous, 
thoughtful  gentleman  that  we  all  knew  in 
the  classroom,  kindly  and  wise  and  lovable, 
254 


PRESS  NOTICES 

with  always  a  touch  of  rare  humor  lurking 
in  the  background.  Quick  in  sympathy, 
keen  in  human  judgment,  wise — though 
never  dogmatic — in  practical  counsel,  he 
made  friendship  an  honor  and  a  rare  privi- 
lege for  any  young  man. 

In  the  classroom,  even  the  dullest  and 
least  literary  among  us  were  stirred  by  a 
touch  of  the  divine  fire  and  inspired  to  emu- 
lation by  the  richness  and  inherent  nobility 
of  his  character,  while  those  whose  natural 
bent  inclined  them  to  books  and  letters  will 
always  look  on  him  as  the  most  inspiring 
teacher  they  ever  sat  under  in  any  univer- 
sity. No  less  a  judge  than  the  literary  edi- 
tor of  the  North  American  Review  once  said 
to  me  that  Professor  Winchester  had  done 
more  to  mould  the  literary  taste  of  the  young 
men  of  this  country  in  the  past  forty  years 
than  any  other  one  man.  The  range  of  his 
appreciation  was  remarkable,  from  the  arch 
humor  of  a  Tarn  O'Shanter  to  the  high  seri- 
ousness of  a  Hamlet.  In  his  own  words, 
concerning  Shakespeare,  he  "sympathized 
intimately  with  a  wider  range  of  passion, 
and  so  touched  more  springs  of  human  feel- 
ing than  any  other."  But  his  outstanding 
255 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

characteristic  was  that  "moral  sanity,"  which 
he  himself  says  is  "always  characteristic  of 
really  great  literature." 

Now  he  is  dead,  we  feel  not  only  that  Wes- 
leyan  is  no  longer  Wesleyan,  but  that  the 
spirit  of  living  culture  is  less.  To-day 

The  world  is  too  much  with  us ;  late  and  soon, 
Getting  and  spending,  we  lay  waste  our  powers. 

It  is,  indeed,  a  dangerous  loss  to 
the  world  at  this  time  that  such  a  voice 
should  be  forever  stilled.  Our  solace  must 
lie  in  this,  that  we  can  never  be  robbed  of 
the  priceless  thing  which  he  has  built  into 
the  hearts  and  minds  of  all  Wesleyan  men. 
One  thing  alone  is  for  us  irretrievably  lost, 
the  man  himself,  whom  we  have  loved,  our 
leader  and  our  friend. 

PHILIP  LOMBAED  GIVEN,  '09. 


256 


THE  WESLEYAN  ALUMNUS,  APRIL,  1920 

Editorial 
WESLEYAN'S    LOSS— AND    GAIN 

THE  heart  of  every  alumnus  is  sad  at  the 
going  of  "Winch."  Such  a  career  will  not 
be  duplicated.  No  man  can  ever  give  to 
Wesleyan  a  gift  more  precious  or  more  last- 
ing than  his  great  gift — his  life.  No  name  is 
dearer  to  Wesleyan  hearts  than  his.  The 
gentle  voice  and  manner,  the  genial  humor, 
the  rich,  varied  appreciation  of  all  that  is 
beautiful  and  good,  the  inspiring  teaching  of 
Wesleyan's  great  master  will  be  a  fondly 
cherished  memory  in  the  heart  of  every  Wes- 
leyan man  of  the  past  half -century. 

Such  a  life  is  almost  a  miracle.  It  makes 
one  believe  more  deeply  in  God  and  in  the 
infinite  possibilities  of  humanity.  Fifty- 
five  years  devoted  to  studying  and  teaching 
the  best  things  that  the  human  race  has 
achieved;  a  life  unusually  rich  and  full, 
built,  with  singleness  of  devotion  for  a  half- 
century,  into  the  very  fiber  of  a  loved  insti- 
tution. The  privilege  of  such  a  life  is 
257 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

granted  to  but  few  men.  The  blessing  of 
such  a  life  comes  to  but  very  few  institutions. 
The  grief  at  his  going,  therefore,  and  the  dis- 
may at  the  gap  which  he  has  left,  are  tem- 
pered by  joyful  gratitude  that  he  has  lived 
and  that  Wesleyan  has  had  her  "Winch." 


258 


THE  WESLEYAN  ALUMNUS,  APRIL,  1920 
"AROUND  THE  CAMPUS"  PAGE 

"WINCH" 

OUR  best  beloved  teacher,  our  perfect 
friend,  the  personification  to  us  of  Wes- 
leyan  ideals  and  traditions,  has  left  us.  Of 
the  present  college  generation,  only  the 
seniors  and  juniors  came  to  know  him  per- 
sonally through  the  lecture  room ;  the  under- 
classmen felt  his  deep  humanity  and  the  gen- 
uineness of  his  powerful  personality  in 
chapel  services  and  about  the  campus. 
Wherever  he  went,  to  whomever  he  spoke, 
there  radiated  a  spirit  of  cheerfulness,  a 
spirit  of  democracy,  which  have  built  them- 
selves into  the  very  foundations  of  the  col- 
lege. It  will  always  be  a  misfortune  for  us 
to  have  lived  through  four  years  without  him 
by  our  side,  as  our  counselor  and  our  leader. 
But  the  inspiration  of  a  life  as  simple,  lov- 
ing, faithful,  and  devoted  as  his  will  make 
Professor  Winchester  live  in  the  minds  of 
us  all. 


259 


WESLEYAN    ARGUS,,    MARCH    25,    1920 

Editorial 
PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

NOT  one  undergraduate  will  fail  to  be 
deeply  stirred  by  the  death  of  that  seer  of 
American  scholars,  Professor  Caleb  T. 
Winchester.  For  fifty  continuous  years  his 
brilliant  mind  and  kingly  personality  have 
helped  to  ennoble  the  characters  of  all 
those  with  whom  he  has  dealt.  Par- 
ticularly has  Wesleyan  been  richly  benefited 
through  his  generous  endowment  of  thought 
and  culture.  In  the  hearts  of  hundreds  of 
Wesleyan  men  who  have  sat  at  his  feet  and 
received  the  fruits  of  his  genius,  there  is  now 
deep  sorrow  that  such  a  life  of  service  has 
been  closed.  . 

Fame,  though  much  sought,  comes  to  but 
few.  Yet  none  can  say  that  it  did  not  rest 
with  majesty  upon  the  brow  of  him  whom 
not  only  Wesleyan  but  the  world  of  learn- 
ing mourns.  The  force  of  his  intellect  is 
manifested  in  the  new  vistas  of  learning 
which  he  has  created ;  the  exquisite  purity  of 
260 


PRESS  NOTICES 

his  life  remains  in  the  new  warmth  which  his 
friendship  has  brought  into  the  hearts  of  all 
who  knew  him.  Truly  the  world  has  lost 
a  great  scholar.  Wesleyan  has  been  bereft 
of  a  loyal  and  dear  son,  and  every  under- 
graduate, of  a  wise,  patient  counselor  and 
true  friend.  Our  sympathy  goes  out  to 
those  to  whom  he  was  dear;  our  grief  re- 
mains a  tribute  to  his  rich  life  of  devoted 
service. 


261 


THE  NEW   YORK  EVENING   POST,,   MARCH   26, 

1920 

Editorial 

SCHOLAR  AND  MAN 

THE  death  of  Professor  Caleb  T.  Win- 
chester, professor  of  English  literature  at 
Wesleyan,  removes  a  figure  of  the  ideal  type 
for  a  college  chair.  A  scholar  to  his  finger 
tips,  he  infused  life  into  learning.  He  pos- 
sessed the  rare  gift  of  being  able  to  present 
his  subject  matter  interestingly  without  be- 
coming superficial,  resembling  in  this  respect 
a  better  known  scholar,  the  late  Professor 
Lounsbury.  It  is  impossible  to  demand  that 
a  teacher,  even  of  one  of  the  humanities, 
shall  display  this  talent  in  so  marked  a  way, 
but  there  is  nothing  unreasonable  in  the  ex- 
pectation that  such  a  teacher  shall  take  the 
attitude  toward  his  work  that  these  men 
took,  and  strive,  so  far  as  in  him  lies,  to  do 
what  they  did.  Literary  criticism  is  usually 
regarded  as  a  preserve  for  the  specialist,  and 
the  specialist  does  little  to  discourage  this 
notion.  Yet  everybody  reads.  Why  should 
not  a  growing  number  read  critically? 
262 


PRESS  NOTICES 

This  does  not  mean  that  they  should  read 
with  less  appreciation,  less  pleasure,  less 
gusto.  Those  who  came  under  Professor 
Winchester's  influence,  in  classroom  or  pub- 
lic hall,  suffered  no  blunting  of  their  sensi- 
tiveness to  literary  beauty  by  their  keener 
insight  and  their  sharpened  power  of  analy- 
sis. If  they  saw  the  false  more  clearly  than 
before,  they  saw  the  true  more  clearly  too. 
If  they  were  less  patient  with  the  common- 
place, they  had  greater  joy  in  the  excellent. 

It  is  the  fashion  to  refer  to  men  like  Pro- 
fessor Winchester  as  scholars  of  the  old 
school.  It  is  the  duty  of  college  presidents 
to  do  what  they  can  to  make  such  men  the 
fashion  still. 


263 


THE  CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE,  NEW  YORK,  APRIL 

1,  1920 

Extract  from  Editorial 
A  PRINCE  AMONG  TEACHERS 

•        •••••• 

CALEB  T.  WINCHESTER  was  the  perfect 
teacher.  He  loved  his  subject,  English  lit- 
erature, and  had  such  a  knowledge  of  its 
history,  and  such  skill  in  interpreting  its 
spirit,  as  few  Americans  have  possessed. 
More  than  that,  he  had  that  rare  gift  of  im- 
parting to  others  a  sense  of  literary  values, 
and  a  power  to  analyze  and  appreciate  lit- 
erature, which  fitted  most  of  his  students  to 
read  to  their  own  edification,  while  it  in- 
spired a  few  in  every  college  generation  to 
brilliant  creative  effort. 

In  his  modest  and  charming  way,  before 
a  company  of  his  best  friends  at  the  last 
commencement  season,  Professor  Winches- 
ter told,  with  engaging  informality,  the  story 
of  his  connection  with  this  college  to  whose 
service  he  devoted  his  life.  The  paper1  will 

1  Printed  on  pages  96  to  117  of  this  volume.  It  was  also 
printed  in  the  above-mentioned  number  of  The  Christian 
Advocate  with  the  following  introductory  note: 

264 


PRESS  NOTICES 

be  read  with  delight  by  his  old  pupils,  for  it 
is  fragrant  with  his  cherished  personality. 
But  its  value  goes  beyond  its  reminiscence. 
Informal  though  it  is,  it  is  a  contribution  to 
the  history  of  the  study  of  English  literature 
in  American  colleges.  For  in  this  field  Wes- 
leyan  was  an  acknowledged  leader,  and  it 
was  so  because  in  this  man  she  had  a  teacher 
who  had  raised  his  subject  to  a  commanding 
position  as  a  means  of  general  culture.  The 
rich  universities  recognized  his  worth,  and 
sometimes  drew  upon  his  services,  but  he 
was  deaf  to  their  flattering  invitations  to 
join  their  teaching  staff. 


"Dr.  Winchester,  who  has  had  no  superior  in  his  genera- 
tion in  America  as  a  teacher  of  English  literature  in  the  col- 
lege classroom  and  in  the  popular  lecture  hall,  was  the  guest 
of  many  friends,  colleagues,  and  former  students  last  com- 
mencement. His  remarks  on  that  occasion  are  addressed 
first  of  all  to  the  graduates  of  that  fine  New  England  college, 
most  of  whom  had  been  his  pupils;  but  his  acquaintance  is  so 
wide,  his  academic  standing  so  eminent,  that  his  remarks  upon 
college  education  in  general  and  the  study  of  literature  in  par- 
ticular will  be  of  interest  to  all  who  are  concerned  in  this  form 
of  intellectual  culture." 


265 


THE  REVIEW,  NEW  YORK,  MAY  1,  1920 

CORRESPONDENCE 

To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  REVIEW  : 

It  is  with  regret  that  I  note  that  none  of 
the  literary  weeklies  has  so  far  mentioned 
the  recent  death  of  Professor  C.  T.  Win- 
chester, for  nearly  fifty  years  head  of  the 
department  of  English  literature  at  Wes- 
ley an  University,  Middletown,  Connecticut. 
I  say  with  regret  because  he  was  one  of  the 
small  band  of  truly  literary  teachers  of  lit- 
erature. To  sit  in  his  classroom  was  at  once 
an  education  and  an  inspiration.  His  voice 
was  like  one  of  those  voices  at  Oxford  of 
whom  Arnold  wrote  so  eloquently  in  his 
essay  on  Emerson.  In  our  American  univer- 
sities, in  our  departments  of  English  litera- 
ture, we  now  have,  if  you  will,  "more  knowl- 
edge, more  light,"  but  such  a  voice  as  that 
of  Winchester  is  most  rare.  In  very  few 
cases  is  the  great  author  tried  by  his  peer. 
Shakespeare  becomes  a  curiosity  of  Eliza- 
bethan English,  and  we  learn  everything 
about  Chaucer  except  his  literary  qualities. 
266 


PRESS  NOTICES 

Professor  Winchester  was  a  peer  of  literary 
greatness.  To  read  his  books,  Principles  of 
Literary  Criticism  and  A  Group  of  English 
Essayists  of  the  Early  Nineteenth  Century, 
is  to  be  acutely  conscious  of  this.  His  ex- 
quisite literary  taste  and  judgment,  his  rare 
faculty  of  imparting  literary  enthusiasms— 
which  never  included  mediocre  authors- 
drew  to  him  a  band  of  disciples  limited  only 
by  the  number  of  students  in  attendance  at 
Wesleyan.  Several  times  he  refused  flatter- 
ing offers  from  great  universities.  His  work, 
he  said,  was  at  Wesleyan. 

The  loss  of  such  a  teacher  of  literature  is 
a  calamity ;  but  in  the  shadow  of  those  moun- 
tains which  he  loved,  beyond  the  Connecticut 
river  below  Middletown,  his  memory  will 
need  no  laurel. 

HAKRY  TORSEY  BAKER/ 
Goucher  College, 

Baltimore,  Md.,  April  23. 

1  Professor  Baker  was  graduated  from  Wesleyan  in  1900  and 
during  the  next  three  years  served  there  as  assistant  in  Eng- 
lish, and  in  1903-1904  as  tutor  in  English. 


267 


A 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 

OF  THE 

PUBLISHED  WRITINGS 

OF 

PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 


A  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  PUB- 
LISHED WRITINGS  OF  PRO- 
FESSOR WINCHESTER 

(Joint  editor),  [Wesleyan]  College 
Argus,  v.  2,  1868-1869. 

Somnia  [Taylor  Prize  Poem].  [Wes- 
leyan] College  Argus,  v.  2,  p.  1,  September 
24,  1868. 

To-night  [poem].  [Wesleyan]  College 
Argus,  v.  2,  p.  9,  October  15,  1868. 

Hawthorne  and  Thackeray  [Sophomore 
Exhibition  Oration].  [Wesleyan]  College 
Argus,  v.  2,  pp.  41-42,  February  4,  1869. 

One  Day  [poem].  [Wesleyan]  College 
Argus,  v.  2,  p.  61,  March  18,  1869. 

Class  Song,  '69  (Air— "Solo  Profugo"— 
Martha).  [Wesleyan]  College  Argus,  v. 
2,  p.  89,  July  1,  1869;  This  song  beginning 
"Like  a  dream  that  passeth  fleetly"  is  re- 
printed with  the  title,  Farewell  Song,  in  The 
Wesleyan  Song  Book,  Middletown,  Conn., 
Wesleyan  University  Musical  Association, 
1901,  p.  104;  second  edition,  1903,  p.  106; 
third  edition,  1906,  p.  109;  fourth  edition, 
1914,  p.  131. 

271 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

(Editor)  Ceremonies  and  Speeches  at  the 
Laying  of  the  Corner  Stone  and  Dedication 
of  the  Orange  Judd  Hall  of  Natural  Sci- 
ence, Wesleyan  University,  Middletown, 
Connecticut,  May  5,  1870,  and  July  18, 
1871.  Pp.  68. 

Hymn:  "The  Lord  Our  God  Alone  is 
Strong."  Ceremonies  and  Speeches  at  the 
Laying  of  the  Corner  Stone  and  Dedication 
of  the  Orange  Judd  Hall  of  Natural  Sci- 
ence* p.  36 ;  Hymnal  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  1878,  p.  322  (Hymn  No. 
866) ;  The  Methodist  Hymnal,  1905,  p.  491 
(Hymn  No.  686) ;  The  Wesleyan  Song 
Book,  Middletown,  Conn.,  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity Musical  Association,  1901,  p.  94; 
second  edition,  1903,  p.  94;  third  edition, 
1906,  p.  94;  fourth  edition,  1914,  p.  129. 

(Associate  Editor)  Alumni  Record  of 
Wesleyan  University,  Middletown,  Conn. 
( Second  Edition) .  Boston:  Press  of  Rand, 
Avery  &  Company,  1873.  Pp.  xxviii+308. 

(Editor)  Addresses  at  the  Inauguration 
of  Rev.  Cyrus  D.  Foss,  D.D.,  as  President 
of  Wesleyan  University,  Tuesday,  October 
26,  1875.  Middletown,  Conn.:  Pelton  & 
King,  1876.  Pp.  35. 

272 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Wesleyan  University.  The  College  Book, 
edited  by  F.  Richardson  and  Henry  A. 
Clark.  Boston:  Houghton,  Osgood  &  Com- 
pany, 1878.  Pp.  301-319. 

Some  Characteristics  of  English  Thought 
in  the  Eighteenth  Century.  Methodist 
Quarterly  Review,  v.  63,  pp.  246-270, 
April,  1881. 

Historical  Sketch  of  Wesleyan  Univer- 
sity. Alumni  Record  of  Wesleyan  Univer- 
sity, Middletown,  Conn.  Third  edition, 
1881-3,  pp.  xiii-xviii.  Fourth  edition,  1911, 
pp.  viii-xv. 

(Editor)  Selected  Essays  of  Joseph  Ad- 
dison,  with  an  Introduction.  New  York: 
Rand,  Avery  &  Company,  1886.  New 
York:  Chautauqua  Press,  1890.  Pp.  175. 
(In  Chautauqua  Library,  Garnet  Series.) 

A  Plea  for  the  Study  of  Literature. 
Methodist  Review,  v.  68,  pp.  668-682,  Sep- 
tember-October, 1886. 

(Joint  editor),  The  Wesleyan  Univer- 
sity Bulletin,  Numbers  1  to  67,  January, 
1888,  to  December,  1919. 

Byron,  Methodist  Review,  v.  70,  pp.  666- 
686,  September-October,  1888. 

Literature  as  an  Agent  of  Christian  Cul- 
273 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

ture,  Zion's  Herald,  April  2,  1890. 

Some  Recent  Biography,  Zion's  Herald, 
April  29,  1891. 

Five  Short  Courses  of  Reading  in  Eng- 
lish Literature,  with  Biographical  and 
Critical  References.  Boston:  Ginn  &  Co., 
1891.  Pp.  v+99.  Revised  edition,  1900,  pp. 
vi+129.  Third  revised  edition,  1911,  pp. 
v+150. 

A  Pledge  to  Psi  Upsilon  (Air,  Freedom's 
Flag) ;  and  Here's  to  Old  Psi  U!  (Air, 
Freiheit,  die  ich  meine).  Songs  of  the  Psi 
Upsilon  Fraternity,  New  York.  Executive 
Council  of  the  Psi  Upsilon  Fraternity,  tenth 
edition,  1891,  pp.  20-21  and  65;  eleventh 
edition,  1908,  pp.  20-21  and  65. 

Review  of  White's  Philosophy  of  Amer- 
ican Literature.  Educational  Review  f  v.  2, 
pp.  186-189,  July,  1891. 

Review  of  Mrs.  Sutherland  Orr's  Life  of 
Browning.  Zion's  Herald,  August  26, 
1891. 

James  Russell  Lowell  as  Man  of  Letters. 
Review  of  Reviews,  v.  4,  pp.  291-294,  Sep- 
tember, 1891. 

The  Bible  as  Literature.  Zion's  Herald, 
October  12,  1892. 

274 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

(Joint  editor  with  Professor  George  Ly- 
man  Kittredge,  of  Harvard  University) 
The  Athenseum  Press  Series.  Boston:  Ginn 
&  Co.,  1892-1902,  27  vols. 

Introduction.  Wesleyan  Verse,  Selected 
from  the  Undergraduate  Publications  of 
Wesleyan  University,  edited  by  Frederic 
Laurence  Knowles,  '94.  Middletown, 
Conn.,  1894,  pp.  9-10.  Second  edition,  1914, 
pp.  ix-xii. 

Narrow  Methodism  or  Broad?  Zion's 
Herald,  May  4,  1898. 

Some  Principles  of  Literary  Criticism. 
New  York:  The  Macmillan  Company,  1899. 
Pp.  xii+352.  Also  a  translation  into  Jap- 
anese. 

John  Ruskin.  Methodist  Review,  v.  82, 
pp.  210-231,  March-April,  1900. 

The  Golden  Age  of  New  England  Liter- 
ature. Methodist  Review,  v.  83,  pp.  456- 
464,  May-June,  1901. 

The  Real  Burns.  Booklovers*  Magazine, 
March,  1903. 

John  Wesley.  Century  Magazine,  v.  66, 
pp.  389-408;  492-510,  July  and  August, 
1903. 

John  Wesley,  the  Man.  1703-1903,  Wes- 
275 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

ley  Bicentennial,  Wesleyan  University. 
Middletown,  Conn.,  Wesleyan  University, 
1904,  pp.  97-123. 

(Editor)  The  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley 
Papers.  New  York:  American  Book  Com- 
pany, 1904.  Pp.  258.  (In  the  Gateway 
Series.) 

Literature  as  a  Means  of  Religious  Edu- 
cation in  the  Home.  The  Religious  Educa- 
tion Association.  Proceedings  of  the  Second 
Annual  Convention,  Philadelphia,  March 
2-4, 1904.  Chicago :  Executive  Office  of  the 
Association,  1904,  pp.  38-45. 

Review  of  Dr.  J.  Albert  Swallow's  Meth- 
odism in  the  Light  of  the  English  Literature 
of  the  Last  Century.  Journal  of  English 
and  Germanic  Philology,  v.  5,  pp.  372-374, 
July,  1904. 

(Member  of  Joint  Commission  of  Edi- 
tors), The  Methodist  Hymnal,  Official 
Hymnal  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South.  New  York:  Eaton  and 
Mains,  1905.  Pp.  viii+554+97. 

Tune :  Middletown,  The  Methodist  Hym- 
nal 1905,  p.  314.     [Setting  for  Alford's 
"My  bark  is  wafted  to  the  strand."] 
276 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The  New  Methodist  Hymnal  —  the 
Hymns.  Methodist  Review,  v.  87,  pp.  681- 
696,  September-October,  1905. 

An  Appreciation  of  Frederic  Laurence 
Knowles.  A  paper  read  before  the  Wes- 
ley an  Young  Alumni  Club  of  Boston,  Oc- 
tober 27,  1905.  Privately  printed  by  Wes- 
leyan  Young  Alumni  Club  of  Boston, 
January,  1906.  Pp.  23. 

The  Life  of  John  Wesley.  New  York: 
The  Macmillan  Company,  1906.  Pp. 
xiii+301. 

Arthur  Hugh  Clough.  Methodist  Re- 
view1,  v.  88,  pp.  716-732,  September-Octo- 
ber, 1906. 

Football  Song.  The  Wesley  an  Song 
Book,  Anniversary  [third]  edition.  Mid- 
dletown,  Conn.,  Wesleyan  University  Musi- 
cal Association,  1906,  p.  107;  Fourth  edi- 
tion, 1914,  p.  130. 

Speech  as  Toastmaster,  Commencement 
Luncheon,  June  26,  1906.  1831-1906,  Cel- 
ebration of  the  Seventy-fifth  Anniversary  of 
the  Founding  of  Wesleyan  University,  Mid- 
dletown,  Conn.,  Wesleyan  University,  1907, 
pp.  55-59. 

What  the  Pew  Needs  from  the  Pulpit. 
277 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

Homiletic  Review,  v.  53,  pp.  88-91, 168-172, 
February,  March,  1907. 

John  Wilson.  Methodist  Review,  v.  90, 
pp.  186-201,  March-April,  1908. 

Speech  as  Toastmaster  at  the  Dinner  to 
Delegates,  Invited  Guests,  Trustees,  and 
Faculty  of  the  University,  The  Installation 
of  William  Arnold  Shanklin,  L.H.D., 
LL.D.,  as  Ninth  President  of  Wesleyan 
University,  Middletown,  Conn.,  November 
12,  1909,  pp.  87-89. 

A  Group  of  English  Essayists  of  the 
Early  Nineteenth  Century.  New  York: 
The  Macmillan  Company,  1910.  Pp.  ix+ 
250. 

John  Wesley  in  the  New  Edition  of  the 
Journal.  Methodist  Review,  v.  93,  pp.  205- 
218,  March-April,  1911. 

The  Bible  as  Literature.  Methodist  Re- 
view, v.  93,  pp.  285-298,  March-April, 
1911. 

Address  at  Dinner  of  the  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity Club  of  New  York,  New  York  City, 
January  10, 1913.  Methodist  Review,  v.  95, 
pp.  277-284,  March- April,  1913.  Reprinted 
in  pamphlet:  Wesleyan  University  New 
York  Alumni  Association,  Annual  Banquet, 
278 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

January  10,  1913,  Address  of  Caleb  T. 
Winchester,  Olin  Professor  of  English  Lit- 
erature in  Wesleyan  University,  pp.  3-10. 

The  Poetry  of  Robert  Browning.  Meth- 
odist Review,  v.  94,  pp.  674-692,  September- 
October,  1912. 

(Editor)  A  Book  of  English  Essays. 
New  York:  Henry  Holt  &  Company,  1914, 
pp.  xiv+405.  (In  English  Readings  for 
Schools,  edited  by  W.  L.  Cross. ) 

Professor  Rice  as  a  Member  of  the  Fac- 
ulty, Tributes  to  Professor  William  North 
Rice,  Annual  Dinner,  New  York  Wesleyan 
University  Club,  January  29,  1915.  [Mid- 
dletown]:  Wesleyan  Alumni  Council, 
[1915],  pp.  18-27. 

William  Wordsworth:  How  to  Know 
Him.  Indianapolis:  The  Bobbs-Merrill 
Company,  1916.  Pp.  289. 

[President  Raymond  as  Neighbor  and 
Friend.]  Address  [at  the  Memorial  Serv- 
ice]. Bradford  Paul  Raymond,  1846-1916, 
Middletown,  Conn.,  Wesleyan  University, 
1916,  pp.  18-20. 

Wesleyan's  Third  [Fourth]  President 
[Augustus  William  Smith].  Address  at 
Unveiling  of  Memorial  Window,  Wesleyan 
279 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

Alumnus,  v.  3,  No.  1,  pp.  12-14,  October, 
1918. 

A  New  England  Mystic,  Methodist  Re- 
view, v.  102,  pp.  517-553,  July,  1919. 

The  New  Poetry,  Methodist  Review,  v. 
103,  pp.  9-21,  January,  1920. 

Prayers,  Numbers  116  and  157.  The 
Chapel  Service  Book  for  Schools  and  Col- 
leges. New  York.  Abingdon  Press,  1920. 


280 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER 

ASA 
PUBLIC  LECTURER 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER  AS  A 
PUBLIC  LECTURER 

ONE  of  the  most  notable  factors  in  Pro- 
fessor Winchester's  career  was  his  success 
and  popularity  as  a  public  lecturer  on  lit- 
erary and  other  topics.  One  of  his  earliest 
appearances  as  a  public  lecturer  was  before 
a  Middletown  audience,  and  his  subject  was 
London  a  Hundred  Tears  Ago.  This  lec- 
ture, repeated  from  time  to  time  before  vari- 
ous audiences,  was  last  given  before  a  Cal- 
ifornia audience  in  1917  at  what  was 
probably  one  of  his  last  appearances  as  a 
lecturer  before  a  general  audience. 

In  the  space  of  more  than  forty  years 
which  lay  between  these  two  lectures  Pro- 
fessor Winchester  gave  a  large  number  of 
lectures  and  courses  of  lectures  before  both 
college  and  general  audiences.  Of  unusual 
interest  and  importance  was  his  connection 
with  Wells  College  at  Aurora-on-Cayuga- 
Lake,  New  York,  of  which  Miss  Katherine 
Keeler,  Professor  of  English  in  that  college, 
has  written  as  follows: 

He  lectured  at  the  college  for  thirty  years, 
283 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

from  1880  to  1910  (through  1909)  without,  I 
think,  ever  missing  a  year.  He  came  two  or  three 
times  after  that,  but  no  longer  regularly.  He 
came  always,  so  far  as  I  know,  at  Thanksgiving 
time,  spending  the  last  week  of  November  with 
us.  He  usually  gave  five  or  six  lectures  during 
that  week,  though  in  some  of  the  earlier  years  as 
few  as  three  or  four. 

The  lectures  at  first  were  more  general  in  char- 
acter than  later.  The  first  that  I  find  mentioned 
in  the  catalogue  (1883-1884)  were  three  lectures 
on  English  Literature  in  the  Times  of  Elizabeth 
and  Queen  Anne.  He  gave  the  next  year  a  series 
of  five  on  Literature  of  the  Elizabethan  Period. 
He  gave  several  times  a  number  of  lectures,  four 
or  five  or  six,  on  Shakespeare's  Plays ;  five  on  the 
Age  of  Queen  Anne;  five  on  a  Group  of  English 
Essayists  (Hazlitt,  Lamb,  De  Quincey,  etc.); 
Memories  of  the  English  Lake  Region ;  a  series  on 
Wordsworth,  Scott,  Byron,  Shelley,  and  Keats; 
a  series  on  the  Victorian  Writers  (Carlyle,  Ten- 
nyson, Browning,  Arnold,  Clough) ;  one  group 
of  lectures  on  American  Literature  (American 
Literature  before  1830,  Emerson,  Lowell,  Long- 
fellow, and  Whittier)  ;  and  single  lectures  on  An 
Old  Castle,  An  Evening  in  the  London  of  1780, 
Literature  as  a  Means  of  Religious  Culture. 

Professor    Winchester     gave    many    informal 

talks  and  readings  during  the  days  he  spent  in 

Aurora.     He  was  always  exceedingly  generous  to 

us.    He  came  to  know  well  many  of  the  students, 

284 


LECTURER 

and  many  of  them  look  back  to  his  days  at  the 
college  as  a  time  that  gave  them  their  first  real 
love  for  literature,  or  that  strengthened  the  de- 
light they  had  found  in  it  under  the  guidance  of 
Dean  Smith.1 

Dr.  Kerr  D.  Macmillan,  now  President  of 
Wells  College,  has  written  as  follows  of  the 
esteem  in  which  Professor  Winchester  has 
continued  to  be  held  at  Wells  College  and  of 
the  memorials  for  him  established  there: 

One  of  our  trustees,  Mrs.  Charles  Weston  of 
Scranton,  who  was  an  undergraduate  here  when 
Professor  Winchester  used  to  visit  the  college, 
has  just  endowed  a  scholarship  which  is  to  be 
called  the  Winchester  scholarship  in  his  honor. 

I  think,  too,  I  should  tell  you,  in  case  it  may 
not  have  reached  your  ears,  that  the  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  department  of  English,  Miss  Keeler, 
has  put  a  bronze  memorial  tablet2  in  our  Library 
commemorating  his  connection  with  the  college, 
and  also  given  an  endowment  to  buy  books  year 
after  year  in  his  name. 

1  Helen  Pairchild  Smith,  daughter  of  Augustus  William 
Smith,  fourth  President  of  Wesley  an  University,  through 
whom  the  invitation  to  lecture  at  Wells  College  was  originally 
extended  to  Professor  Winchester. 

4  The  inscription  reads: 

IN   MEMORY    OF 

CALEB    T.    WINCHESTER 

LECTURER    IN    ENGLISH    LITERATURE 

1880-1909 

IN  LITERATURE   HE   FOUND   LIFE 

285 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

It  was  not  my  good  fortune  to  be  here  when 
Professor  Winchester  regularly  lectured  to  the 
students,  and  I  have  heard  him  only  occasionally, 
but  it  is  obvious  that  his  influence  upon  those  who 
had  the  advantage  of  hearing  him  was  both  good 
and  permanent,  and  that  they  all  hold  his  memory 
in  very  high  esteem.  What  a  fine  thing  it  is  to 
know  that  the  good  we  do  may  live  after  us  in  the 
hearts  and  lives  of  our  friends! 

It  has  been  both  a  pleasure  and  an  inspiration 
to  hear  the  many  good  things  said  of  Professor 
Winchester's  life  and  work  in  Wells  College,  and 
to  have  the  college  chosen  as  a  trustee  of  concrete 
memorials  to  him. 

Of  almost  equal  interest  was  Professor 
Winchester's  connection,  as  a  lecturer,  with 
Johns  Hopkins  University1  where  he  four 
times  gave  the  lectures  on  the  Donovan 
Foundation  as  follows: 

1890-1891.  English  Literature  of  the  Period  of 

Queen  Anne,  eight  lectures. 

The  Lake  Poets,  one  lecture. 
1891-1892.  English  Poets   of  the  First  Half  of 

the  Nineteenth  Century,  nine  lectures. 
1894-1895.  Literature   of   the  Victorian   Period, 

ten  lectures. 
1899-1900.  Essayists  and  Reviewers  of  the  Early 

Nineteenth  Century,  six  lectures. 

1  See  above,  pages  166-168. 

286 


LECTURER 

In  furnishing  the  information  concerning 
the  dates  and  subjects  of  these  lectures,  Pro- 
fessor John  H.  Latane,  the  Dean  of  that 
University,  has  written: 

I  find  four  courses  listed,  the  first  three  of  which 
I  remember  very  distinctly  attending  myself. 
Professor  Winchester's  lectures  always  attracted 
large  crowds,  including  members  of  the  faculty, 
graduate  students,  and  the  general  public.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  popular  lecturers  we  have 
ever  had,  and  I  have  very  vivid  recollections  of 
him  and  his  delightful  humor. 

At  one  time  or  another  he  gave  one  or 
more  courses  of  lectures  before  each  of 
the  following  colleges  and  universities: 
Yale  University,  Brown  University, 
Smith  College,  Mount  Holyoke  College, 
Elmira  College,  Richmond  College,  Ohio 
Wesleyan  University,  Northwestern  Univer- 
sity and  the  University  of  Wisconsin.  He, 
also,  gave  single  lectures  on  one  or  more  oc- 
casions at  Dartmouth  College,  Williams 
College,  Amherst  College,  Vassar  College, 
Clark  College,  Rhode  Island  State  College, 
Princeton  University,  University  of  Michi- 
gan, Purdue  University,  Clemson  College, 
Wofford  College,  Hartford  Theological 
287 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

Seminary,  Auburn  Theological  Seminary, 
and  Drew  Theological  Seminary. 

He  was  a  frequent  lecturer  before  teach- 
ers' associations,  university  extension  or- 
ganizations, Conferences  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  literary  societies,  and 
other  gatherings  within  a  day's  journey  of 
Middletown.  His  engagements  at  more  dis- 
tant points  included  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania; Norfolk,  Virginia;  Charleston,  South 
Carolina;  Mobile,  Alabama;  Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania;  Cleveland,  Ohio;  Indianap- 
olis, Indiana;  Chicago,  Illinois;  and  Pasa- 
dena and  Los  Angeles,  California. 

The  high  appreciation  of  Professor  Win- 
chester as  a  lecturer  was  manifested  by  the 
repeated  invitations  to  return  for  additional 
courses  or  lectures,  in  many  different  years, 
at  a  large  proportion  of  the  places  where  he 
had  once  appeared.  It  is  quite  impossible  to 
furnish  a  complete  list  of  the  lectures  given 
or  of  the  places  or  dates  involved,  but  the 
following  items  are,  perhaps,  the  more  im- 
portant ones. 

A  course  of  six  lectures  on  Six  Plays  of 
Shakespeare,  South  Manchester,  Connecti- 
cut, college  year  1894-1895;  University  Ex- 
288 


LECTURER 

tension  Society,  New  Haven,  January  20- 
February  24,  1898.  Three  of  these  lectures 
were  given  at  Hotel  Waldorf-Astoria,  New 
York,  January  31,  February  14,  March  6, 
1908.  A  lecture  on  The  Winter's  Tale,  the 
Play  of  Shakespeare's  Home-Coming,  was 
given  before  the  Quill  Club,  New  York, 
April  18, 1916. 

Lectures  on  Shakespeare,  the  Man  were 
given  at  Memorial  Chapel,  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity, February  7, 1893;  Shakespeare  Me- 
morial Service,  Madison  Avenue  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  New  York,  April  23, 
1916;  Century  Club,  Springfield,  Massa- 
chusetts, November  8,  1916. 

A  course  of  eight  lectures  on  the  Litera- 
ture of  the  Period  of  Queen  Anne,  Johns 
Hopkins  University,  college  year  1890- 
1891;  University  Extension  Society,  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut,  college  year  1894-1895. 
Given  as  a  course  of  six  lectures,  West  Phil- 
adelphia Branch  of  the  Society  for  the  Ex- 
tension of  University  Studies,  college  year 
1891-1892;  Brooklyn  Institute,  college  year 
1899-1900;  Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  Feb- 
ruary 11-16,  1903;  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
February  29-April  4,  1908. 
289 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

A  course  of  nine  lectures  on  the  Principal 
English  Poets  of  the  Period  1789-1832:  1. 
Introductory,  Characteristics  of  the  Period; 
2.  Burns;  3.  Wordsworth;  4.  Southey  and 
Coleridge;  5.  Scott;  6.  Byron;  7.  Shelley, 
the  Man;  8.  Shelley,  the  Poet;  9.  Keats. 
Memorial  Chapel,  Wesleyan  University, 
October  30,  1894-March  23,  1895.  This 
course  was  probably  first  given  as  a  course 
of  six  lectures,  Unity  Hall,  Hartford,  Con- 
necticut, Spring,  1887,  and  was  so  repeated 
at  Wells  College,  November,  1887;  at 
Northwestern  University,  college  year  1890- 
91;  and  before  the  Brooklyn  Institute,  Oc- 
tober 9-November  7,  1897;  the  full  course 
of  nine  lectures  was  given  at  Johns  Hopkins 
University  in  the  college  year  1891-1892; 
as  an  abbreviated  course  of  four  lectures  it 
was  given  at  Brown  University,  college  year 
1896-1897,  and  at  the  University  of  Wiscon- 
sin, February  10-14,  1902. 

A  course  of  six  lectures  on  the  Essayists 
and  Reviewers  of  the  Early  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury: 1.  Introductory;  2.  Hazlitt;  3.  Lamb; 
4.  De  Quincey;  5.  Wilson;  6.  Leigh  Hunt. 
Donovan  Foundation,  Johns  Hopkins  Uni- 
versity, college  year  1899-1900;  Brooklyn 
290 


LECTURER 

Institute,  September  28-November  9,  1900; 
Yale  University,  December  3-17,  1900; 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  November  3-De- 
cember  12,  1900. 

A  course  of  ten  lectures  on  the  Literature 
of  the  Victorian  Period,  Donovan  Founda- 
tion, Johns  Hopkins  University,  college 
year  1894-1895;  Thomas  Foundation,  Rich- 
mond College,  Richmond,  Virginia,  college 
year  1894-1895.  A  course  of  four  of  these 
lectures  on  the  poets  was  given  at  Brown 
University,  college  year  1891-92;  a  course  of 
six  lectures  was  given  at  Northwestern  Uni- 
versity, college  year  1890-1891;  before  the 
Brooklyn  Institute,  college  year  1896-1897; 
and  the  University  Extension  Society,  New 
Haven,  October-November,  1898; 'two  lec- 
tures on  Clough  and  Arnold  were  given  at 
Auburn  Theological  Seminary,  college  year 
1896-1897;  one  on  Arnold,  at  Princeton 
University,  college  year  1899-1900;  and  one 
on  Ruskin,  at  Amherst  College,  college  year 
1899-1900. 

The  Bible  as  Literature.    Massachusetts 

Division  of  Ep worth  League,  Worcester, 

Mass.,  October  7,  1892;  Wesleyan  Guild, 

University  of  Michigan,  December  1,  1897. 

291 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

The  Advantage  of  Literary  Study  to  the 
Minister,  New  York  East  Conference, 
April  9, 1894. 

Broader  Conceptions  of  a  Religious  Life, 
Epworth  League  Convention,  Scranton, 
April  15,  1894. 

The  Educational  Value  of  the  Study  of 
English  Literature.  Rhode  Island  State 
Teachers'  Association,  Providence,  October, 
1898. 

The  Teaching  of  John  Ruskin.  New 
York  East  Conference,  April  10,  1899. 

The  Disappearance  of  Literature.  Nine- 
teenth Century  Club,  New  York,  Novem- 
ber 20,  1900. 

Modern  Hymnology.  Methodist  Social 
Union  of  Boston,  November  18,  1901. 

Literature  as  a  Means  of  Christian  Cul- 
ture. Wesleyan  Guild,  University  of  Mich- 
igan, February  8,  1903. 

The  Methodist  Hymnal.  Brooklyn  Meth- 
odist Social  Union,  October  10, 1905. 

What  the  Pew  Expects  of  the  Pulpit. 
College  Conference,  Hartford  Theological 
Seminary,  Hartford,  Connecticut,  March 
30,  1906. 

Professor  Atwater  as  a  Friend,  Memo- 
292 


LECTURER 

rial  Address,  Wesley  an  University,  October 
6,  1907. 

Art,  Love,  and  Religion  in  the  Poetry  of 
Browning.  Mid-year  Meeting  of  the  New 
York  East  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  Mount  Vernon,  New 
York,  October  15,  1907. 

Whittier  as  a  Poet.  Congregational  Club, 
New  York,  December  16,  1907;  Middlesex 
County  Historical  Society,  Middletown, 
December  17,  1907  (centenary  of  Whit- 
tier's  birth). 

Milton's  Place  in  Literature,  Memorial 
Chapel,  Wesleyan  University,  December  9, 
1908  (ter-centenary  of  Milton's  birth). 

Robert  Burns.  Address  delivered  on  the 
anniversary  of  the  poet's  birthday.  Teach- 
ers' Association,  Passaic,  New  Jersey,  Jan- 
uary 25,  1911. 

The  Religious  Teaching  of  Robert 
Browning.  Wesleyan  Guild,  University  of 
Michigan,  April  23,  1911. 

The  Philosophy  of  Browning.  New  York 
Browning  Society,  Waldorf-Astoria,  New 
York,  May  8,  1912;  Commencement  Ad- 
dress, De  Pauw  University,  June  13,  1912. 

Browning  in  the  Twentieth  Century. 
293 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

Methodist  Social  Union,  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts, May  20,  1912. 

Some  Present  Aspects  of  American  Lit- 
erature. The  Get-Together  Club,  Hart- 
ford, December  21,  1914;  The  Arts  Soci- 
ety, Dartmouth  College,  Hanover,  New 
Hampshire,  April  24, 1915;  Commencement 
Address,  Wells  College,  June  6,  1916. 

The  Spiritual  Significance  of  Words- 
worth. First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
Middletown,  March  9,  1915. 

The  Spiritual  Significance  of  Browning. 
First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Middle- 
town,  March  23,  1915. 

The  Oral  Interpretation  of  Literature. 
New  York  English  Teachers'  Association, 
New  York,  February  19,  1916. 

The  Literary  Character  and  Value  of  the 
Book  of  Job.  First  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  Middletown,  March  21,  1916. 


The  Wesleyan  University  Bulletin  for 
May,  1895,  contains  the  following  state- 
ment: "Fourteen  members  of  the  faculty, 
whose  interests  lie  in  the  departments  of  lit- 
erature and  language,  history,  philosophy, 
and  sociology,  have  formed  a  club  for  the 
294 


LECTURER 

discussion  of  topics  of  interest  to  the  mem- 
bers, as  well  as  for  social  purposes.  The 
club  meets  once  a  month,  at  the  residence  of 
one  of  the  members."  Professor  Winches- 
ter, who  was  the  first  president  of  the  club, 
which  soon  took  the  name  of  The  Apostles' 
Club,  was  ever  "the  chief  of  the  Apostles." 
His  regular  papers  presented  before  the 
club  were  on  the  following  topics: 

College  year   1895-1896:   The  Essential 
Element  of  Literature. 

March,  1898:  Poetical  Form. 

May,  1900:  The  Early  Reviewers. 

February,  1901:  The  Disappearance  of 
Literature. 

December,  1902:  John  Wesley's  Taste  in 
Love  and  Letters. 

November,    1904:    The    Making    of    a 
Hymnal. 

February  7,  1907:  The  Teaching  of  Eng- 
lish Literature  in  College  Classes. 

October  8,  1908:  The  Early  English  Re- 
views. 

April  18,  1913:  Some  Remarks  on  Em- 
erson. 

November   17,   1916:   The   Teaching   of 
English  Literature  in  Colleges. 
295 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

April  12,  1918:  Poetry  To-day  and  To- 
morrow. 


In  September,  1869,  Professor  Winches- 
ter was  elected  a  member  of  the  Conversa- 
tional Club  of  Middletown,  an  organization 
of  about  twenty-five  members  chosen  from 
members  of  the  Wesleyan  faculty  and  cit- 
izens of  Middletown,  which  had  been  organ- 
ized in  1862.  He  was  rarely  absent  from 
the  fortnightly  gatherings  of  this  club  and 
his  participation  in  the  discussions  constantly 
displayed  his  wide  range  of  information  and 
interest  and  his  broad  sympathies.  The 
papers  which  he  himself  presented  before 
the  club  reveal  perhaps  better  than  anything 
else  the  subjects  which  interested  him  dur- 
ing the  period  of  his  half -century  of  mem- 
bership. A  list  of  these  topics,  with  the 
dates,  follows: 

Jan.  31,  1870,  The  Bible  in  the  Common 
School. 

March  4,  1872,  Popular  Education  in 
England. 

April  7, 1873,  Creeds. 

Oct.  12,  1874,  Utilitarianism  in  Educa- 
tion. 

296 


LECTURER 

Dec.  13,  1875,  Relations  of  Science  and 
Literature. 

April  30,  1877,  Recent  Study  of  Shake- 
speare. 

Feb.  10,  1879,  English  Thought  in  the 
Eighteenth  Century. 

Dec.  1,  1879,  Recent  Studies  in  Chaucer. 

Dec.  5,  1881,  Some  Days  in  England. 

April  23,  1883,  The  Madness  of  Hamlet. 

April  28,  1884,  Early  English  Drama. 

March  23,  1885,  George  Eliot. 

May  24, 1886,  The  Science  of  Happiness. 

Jan.  16,  1888,  Shakespeare-Bacon. 

Dec.  16,  1889,  Thomas  Carlyle. 

Dec.  7, 1891,  University  Extension. 

March  13,  1893,  Ruskin. 

Dec.  31,  1894,  Remarks  on  the  Modern 
Novel. 

Dec.  21,  1896,  A  Month  Awheel  in  Eng- 
land. 

May  31,  1898,  Some  Characteristics  of 
the  Literature  of  the  Victorian  Period. 

Feb.  25,  1901,  Questions  of  International 
Ethics. 

April  7,  1902,  Leigh  Hunt. 

Feb.  22,  1904,  The  Making  of  a  Hymn 
Book. 

297 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

May  1, 1905,  Christopher  North. 

Jan.  14, 1907,  Some  Random  Remarks  on 
Emerson. 

Oct.  19,  1908,  A  Day  in  Ravenna. 

April  25,  1910,  New  Light  on  John 
Wesley. 

Feb.  26,  1912,  Some  Remarks  about 
Charles  Dickens. 

Oct.  20,  1913,  The  New  Poet  Laureate— 
and  Remarks. 

March  1,  1915,  Some  Present  Aspects  of 
American  Literature. 

Feb.  5,  1917,  Some  Newest  New  Poetry. 

Oct.  21,  1918,  A  New  England  Mystic. 


298 


PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER'S 
COURSES 

IN 
WESLEYAN  UNIVERSITY 


PROFESSOR    WINCHESTER'S 
COURSES 

IN 
WESLEYAN  UNIVERSITY 

IN  the  days  when  Professor  Winchester 
was  a  student  in  college,  the  program  of 
instruction  included  very  little  reference  to 
instruction  in  English  outside  the  rhe- 
torical exercises  which  in  one  form  or 
another  were  required  each  of  the  four 
years.  In  the  first  term  of  the  sopho- 
more year,  logic  was  required,  with  Whate- 
ly's  book  as  text.  This  was  followed  in 
the  second  term  by  rhetoric,  also  based  on 
Whately's  text,  and  in  the  third  term  by 
English  literature,  based  on  Shaw's  Manual. 
The  first  development  beyond  this  meager 
schedule  appears  in  the  catalogue  for  1869- 
1870,  the  year  following  Professor  Win- 
chester's graduation,  when  there  was  added 
instruction  in  the  junior  year  providing  for 
the  "rhetorical  study"  of  the  writings  of  cer- 
tain authors.  The  author  selected  for  the 
first  term  was  Chaucer.  In  the  second  term 
301 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

attention  was  given  to  Demosthenes,  Web- 
ster, and  Jeremy  Taylor,  and  in  the  third 
term  to  Shakespeare  and  Milton.  The  credit 
for  this  change  undoubtedly  belonged  to 
Professor  Fales  Henry  Newhall,  who  was 
Prof  essor  Winchester's  predecessor.  Further 
evidence  of  progress  appeared  in  the  replac- 
ing of  Shaw's  Manual  by  Fiske's  abridg- 
ment of  Taine  in  1872-1873. 

Professor  Winchester's  election  to  the 
chair  of  rhetoric  and  English  literature  coin- 
cided with  a  thoroughgoing  revision  of  the 
whole  curriculum.  Thus,  in  the  very  first 
year  of  his  professorship,  Professor  Win- 
chester was  able  to  introduce  a  new  program 
of  instruction  for  his  department  which  con- 
tained marked  advances  over  that  of  his 
predecessor.  It  provided,  for  the  freshman 
year,  a  required  course,  one  hour  a  week, 
based  upon  Trench's  English,  Past  and 
Present,  supplemented  by  lectures.  There 
were  also  weekly  exercises  in  composition 
and  declamation.  For  the  sophomore  year 
rhetoric  and  logic  were  required  five  hours 
each  fortnight,  with  Bain's  Manual  of  Com- 
position and  Rhetoric  and  Atwater's  Manual 
of  Logic  for  texts.  Weekly  exercises  in 
302 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

composition  and  declamation  were  also  re- 
quired. In  junior  year,  in  addition  to  the 
required  weekly  exercises  in  composition  and 
declamation,  there  was  an  elective  course 
five  hours  a  fortnight  in  rhetoric  and  Eng- 
lish literature,  for  which  the  text-books  listed 
were  Whately's  Rhetoric  and  Taine's  Eng- 
lish Literature  (Fiske's  abridgment).  The 
course  also  provided  for  "historical  and  crit- 
ical study  of  English  classics  based  upon  the 
Clarendon  Press  editions  of  Chaucer, 
Spenser,  Shakespeare,  and  Pope;  together 
with  Abbott's  Shakespearean  Grammar." 
For  the  senior  year  the  required  rhetorical 
exercises  demanded  either  essays  or  original 
declamations.  The  above  requirements  were 
for  the  classical  course.  The  same  studies 
were  required  in  the  Latin-scientific  course 
and  in  the  scientific  course,  but,  in  some 
cases,  were  assigned  to  different  years.  In 
1881-1882  the  following  significant  state- 
ment was  incorporated  in  the  announcement 
for  the  junior  elective:  "select  courses  of 
reading  with  examinations,"  though  these 
courses  of  reading  had  been  in  use  at  least 
as  early  as  1879-1880.  In  the  same  year 
a  senior  elective  course  was  announced  for 
303 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

the  first  time,  which  dealt  with  the  period  of 
Queen  Anne. 

Until  1885  Professor  Winchester  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  librarian  in  addition  to 
the  work  of  his  department.  While  there 
was  an  assistant  librarian  from  1877-1878 
onward,  it  was  not  until  1884-1885  that  the 
catalogue  shows  the  appointment  of  an  as- 
sistant in  rhetoric,  William  Edward  Mead. 
With  the  retirement  of  Professor  Winches- 
ter from  the  librarianship,  this  assistantship 
disappeared,  and  until  the  return  of  Mr. 
Mead  in  1890-1891  to  divide  the  work  of  the 
department  with  Professor  Winchester,  the 
only  aid  he  had  in  carrying  the  burden  of 
departmental  work  was  received  from  the 
successive  instructors  or  tutors  in  Greek  and 
Latin:  Alfred  Charles  True,  1885-1886; 
Franklin  Henry  Taylor,  1886-1890;  Robert 
Henry  Williams,  1886-1889;  and  Karl 
Pomeroy  Harrington,  1889-1890. 

The  introductory  course,  long  known  as 
I.  English  Literature,  or  more  popularly 
as  "One  Lit,"  was  a  junior  elective  until 
1898-1899,  after  which  date  it  was  a  sopho- 
more elective.  From  1912-1913  onward  the 
course  met  three  times  a  week  and  its  con- 
304 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

duct  was  shared  with  Associate  Professor 
Louis  Bliss  Gillet,  who  had  sole  charge  in 
the  year  1916-1917;  in  1917-1918  Profes- 
sor Winchester  shared  the  course  with  In- 
structor John  Edward  Jacoby ;  in  1918-1919 
Professor  Frank  Edgar  Farley  took  over 
the  course. 

From  1881-1882  to  1900-1901,  there  was 
one  senior  elective  in  the  department;  at 
first  this  was  on  the  literature  of  the  period 
of  Queen  Anne;  in  1883-1884  followed  the 
introduction  of  the  study  of  the  period  from 
1789  to  1832;  and  in  1888-1889  the  litera- 
ture of  the  Victorian  period,  1830-1880,  was 
first  offered  instead.  Beginning  in  1901- 
1902  the  last  two  courses  became  junior 
electives  and  to  them  was  added  in  1905- 
1906  a  course  on  six  plays  of  Shakespeare: 
the  course  given  in  any  one  year  being 
chosen  from  the  three.  In  1900-1901  the 
senior  seminary,  as  the  senior  elective  was 
usually  called,  again  dealt  with  the  litera- 
ture of  the  period  of  Queen  Anne;  in  the 
following  year  it  was  on  the  essayists  and 
reviewers  of  the  early  nineteenth  century; 
and  in  1904-1905  the  New  England  litera- 
ture, 1835-1885,  was  offered  for  the  first 
305 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

time:  the  course  offered  in  any  one  year 
being  chosen  from  the  three.  In  1916-1917, 
when  Professor  Winchester  was  in  residence 
only  during  the  first  semester,  the  subject 
of  the  senior  seminary  was  the  poetry  of 
Browning  and  Tennyson,  and  this  was  ex- 
tended in  1917-1918  to  a  year  course  on  the 
literature  of  the  Victorian  period. 

The  course  on  the  elements  of  literary 
criticism  was  first  offered  in  1891-1892  and 
was  repeated  every  year  thereafter  except 
two. 

From  1897-1898  to  1909-1910  Professor 
Winchester  gave  a  course  in  debate,  which 
was  followed  from  1910-1911  to  1915-1916by 
an  elective  course  in  public  speaking  for  se- 
niors, which  was  conducted  jointly  with  In- 
structor John  Wesley  Wetzel.  From  1873- 
1874  to  1889-1890  inclusive,  Professor  Win- 
chester had  charge  of  the  rhetorical  exercises 
required  of  all  four  classes,  and  from  1890- 
1891  to  1909-1910  the  required  rhetorical 
work  for  seniors  continued  under  his  charge. 

Beginning  at  least  as  early  as  1891-1892, 

Professor  Winchester  provided  instruction 

in  his  department  for  graduate  students, 

and  for  a  time  conducted  special  courses  for 

306 


COURSES  AT  WESLEY  AN 

them  as  follows:  from  1892-1893  to  1897- 
1898  a  course  in  the  history  of  literary  crit- 
icism; on  Tennyson  and  Browning  in  1893- 
1894;  and  in  1894-1895,  1895-1896,  and 
1897-1898  a  course  in  the  Elizabethan 
drama. 

In  1916-1917,  Professor  Winchester  made 
certain  changes  in  his  scheme  of  courses  in 
order  to  adjust  the  work  of  the  department 
to  his  absence  on  leave  for  the  second  semes- 
ter. In  1918-1919  the  conditions  arising 
from  the  establishment  of  the  Students 
Army  Training  Corps  prevented  any  stu- 
dents in  the  corps  from  electing  work  in 
English  literature.  For  the  handful  of 
students  who  remained  free  to  choose  their 
studies,  Professor  Winchester  prepared,  as 
a  junior  elective,  a  new  course,  suited  to  the 
spirit  of  the  times,  on  the  political  writings 
of  Burke.  When  the  abandonment  of  the 
corps  made  possible,  in  January,  the  return 
to  normal  conditions,  the  interest  in  the 
experiment  led  Professor  Winchester  to 
continue  the  course  through  the  year. 

From  1912-1913  to  1916-1917  an  addi- 
tional elective  course  in  the  department  was 
offered  by  Associate  Professor  Gillet,  and 
307 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

in  1917-1918  by  Instructor  Jacoby.  In 
1918-1919  and  1919-1920  Professor  Farley 
shared  the  work  of  the  department  and  of- 
fered one  elective  course  in  addition  to  the 
introductory  course.  These  changes  in  the 
staff  of  the  department  led  to  certain  mod- 
ifications in  the  courses  offered  by  Profes- 
sor Winchester  which  may  be  traced  through 
the  four  years  beginning  in  1916-1917,  but 
he  adhered  to  his  own  special  fields  as  closely 
as  the  considerations  of  circumstances  and 
as  generous  concessions  to  the  wishes  of  his 
colleagues  would  permit.  After  Professor 
Winchester's  illness,  Professor  Farley  and 
Instructor  Philip  Lombard  Given  took  over 
the  conduct  of  his  courses  for  the  remainder 
of  the  year. 

Aside  from  his  regular  courses,  Profes- 
sor Winchester  in  various  years  met  infor- 
mal groups  of  students  interested  in  the 
work  of  his  department  for  special  reading 
and  discussion  in  certain  fields  or  in  the 
works  of  certain  authors.  Both  in  this  con- 
nection and  in  connection  with  his  senior 
seminary,  Mrs.  Winchester  and  he  fre- 
quently entertained  the  students  in  their 
home  in  a  manner  whose  profit  and  charm 
308 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

are  abiding  memories  with  those  who  were 
favored  to  participate  in  these  occasions. 

On  five  different  occasions  Professor 
Winchester  was  absent  from  the  university 
on  leave.  The  year  1880-1881  was  spent  in 
study  at  Leipzig  and  in  general  European 
travel;  the  third  term  of  1895-1896  was  spent 
in  Italy;  the  month  of  May,  1904,  was  de- 
voted to  attendance  at  the  sessions  of  the 
General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  Los  Angeles  as  a  delegate ; 
the  second  semester  of  1906-1907  was  spent 
in  general  European  travel;  and  during  the 
second  semester  of  1916-1917  he  visited  Cal- 
ifornia. On  each  of  these  trips,  except  the 
first,  he  was  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Winches- 
ter. He  also  made  briefer  visits  to  Europe 
in  four  different  summer  vacations. 

The  following  pages  furnish  a  somewhat 
detailed  statement  of  the  history  of  the  indi- 
vidual courses  offered  by  Professor  Win- 
chester during  his  half -century  of  teaching. 
The  numbers  of  the  courses  which  appear 
apply  to  the  years  which  are  quoted.  There 
was,  unfortunately,  frequent  change  of  the 
numbers  so  that  the  courses  must  be  identi- 
fied in  each  case  by  name  and  not  by  number. 
309 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

ENGLISH  LANGUAGE:  REQUIRED  FRESHMAN 
COURSE 

THIS  course  as  first  required  in  1873-1874 
was  announced  briefly  in  the  list  of  studies 
required  of  freshmen,  as  follows: 

English:  Trench's  English,  Past  and  Present. 
Lectures.  One  hour  a  week. 

In  1884-1885  the  announcement  appears 
in  the  following  more  elaborate  form: 

I.  Freshman  Year. — During  the  Freshman  year 
the  object  of  the  instruction  in  this  department 
is  to  give  the  class  some  knowledge  of  the  outlines 
of  the  history  of  our  language,  and  to  awaken 
some  interest  in  its  study.  To  this  end,  a  course 
of  simple  lectures  is  given  in  the  fall  term,  recount- 
ing the  main  facts  concerning  the  rise  and  early 
history  of  the  language,  and  these  lectures  are 
accompanied  and  followed  by  recitations  from  the 
class  upon  Trench's  English,  Past  and  Present. 
The  class  meets  for  this  exercise  but  once  a  week. 

In  1887-1888  the  character  of  the  course 
was  somewhat  changed  and  the  allotment  of 
time  increased,  as  the  following  statement 
shows : 

I.  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  Trench's  English, 
Past  and  Present,  with  a  short  course  of  lectures 
upon  the  rise  and  early  history  of  the  language. 

310 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

Three  times  a  fortnight  during  the  first  half  year. 

ELEMENTARY  RHETORIC,  with  frequent  practi- 
cal exercises.  Three  times  a  fortnight  during  the 
second  half  year. 

Course  I  is  required  of  all  Freshmen. 

In  1889-1890  the  distribution  of  the  work, 
though  not  the  content,  was  changed  as 
follows: 

I.  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  Trench's  English, 
Past  and  Present,  with  a  short  course  of  lectures 
upon  the  rise  and  early  history  of  the  language. 
Once  a  week  during  the  first  term;  once  a  fort- 
night during  the  second  and  third  terms. 

ELEMENT  AH  Y  RHETORIC,  with  frequent  practi- 
cal exercises.  Once  a  fortnight  during  the  first 
term;  once  a  week  during  the  second  and  third 
terms. 

Course  I  is  required  of  all  Freshmen. 

In  1890-1891  this  course  was  transferred 
to  the  new  department  of  English  language 
under  the  charge  of  Professor  Mead. 

ENGLISH  LANGUAGE:  REQUIRED  SOPHOMORE 
COURSE 

This  course,  as  first  required  in  1873-1874, 
was  announced  briefly  in  the  list  of  studies 
required  of  sophomores,  as  follows: 

Rhetoric  and  Logic. — Bain's  Manual  of  Com- 
311 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

position    and    Rhetoric;    Atwater's    Manual    of 
Logic.     Five  hours  a  fortnight. 

With  changes  of  text-book  this  course 
continued  through  1883-1884.  Thus  we  find, 
in  1882-1883,  that  the  texts  used  were  Hill's 
Rhetoric  and  Jevons's  Logic,  and  that  the 
announcement  also  included  for  the  first 
time  the  phrase  "Exercises  in  criticism  of 
standard  authors." 

In  1884-1885  the  work  in  logic  was  trans- 
ferred from  this  department,  and  the  time 
gained  was  assigned  for  the  reading  and 
criticism  of  selected  writings.  The  changed 
announcement  read  as  follows : 

II.  Sophomore  Year. — The  study  assigned  to 
the  Sophomore  year,  in  this  department,  is  Rhet- 
oric. The  class  meets  on  alternate  days  through 
half  the  year.  The  text-book  used  is  A.  S.  Hill's 
Principles  of  Rhetoric.  The  study  of  the  text- 
book, however,  forms  only  a  part  of  the  work  of 
the  class.  The  members  of  the  class  are  required  to 
write  occasional  exercises  illustrating  and  apply- 
ing the  principles  laid  down  in  the  text-book; 
these  principles  are  also  applied  in  the  public 
criticism  of  their  regular  essays,  written  once  in 
three  weeks ;  and,  finally,  they  read,  in  connection 
with  their  rhetorical  study,  two  or  three  specimens 
of  the  best  modern  English  prose,  criticise  and 

312 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

discuss  them  in  the  class,  and  compare  them  to 
discover  the  characteristic  excellences  and  defects 
of  each.  The  writings  selected  for  such  reading 
and  criticism  this  year  are  Macaulay's  Life  of 
Johnson,  Carlyle's  Essay  on  Johnson,  and  Burke's 
speech  on  "Conciliation  with  America."  The  es- 
says of  Macaulay  and  Carlyle  are  compared  with 
respect  to  their  diction,  structure  of  sentence  and 
paragraph,  modes  of  illustration,  and  general 
method  of  treating  the  same  subject.  The  speech 
of  Burke  is  studied  especially  with  reference  to  the 
rhetorical  laws  of  argument  and  persuasion. 

In  1886-1887  the  text-books  were  changed 
and  some  adjustments  made  in  the  character 
of  the  course,  as  the  following  statement  in- 
dicates : 

II.  Required  of  all  Sophomores. 

RHETORIC.  McElroy's  Structure  of  English 
Prose,  and  Gummere's  Handbook  of  Poetics.  The 
members  of  the  class  are  required  to  write — in 
addition  to  their  regular  essays — occasional  ex- 
ercises illustrating  and  applying  the  principles 
laid  down  in  the  text-books;  and  they  read,  for 
criticism  and  discussion  in  the  classroom,  two  or 
three  specimens  of  the  best  modern  English  prose. 
The  writings  selected  for  such  reading  and  criti- 
,cism  this  year  are  Macaulay's  Life  of  Johnson 
and  Carlyle's  Essay  on  Johnson.  Five  times  a 
fortnight  during  the  first  half  year. 

313 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

In  the  ensuing  year  Genung's  Rhetoric 
was  substituted  as  the  text-book.  The  an- 
nouncement was  further  modified  during 
1889-1890,  the  last  year  that  Professor  Win- 
chester had  charge  of  the  course: 

II.  RHETORIC.  Genung's  Practical  Rhetoric. 
The  members  of  the  class  are  required  to  write — 
in  addition  to  their  regular  essays — occasional 
exercises  illustrating  and  applying  the  principles 
laid  down  in  the  text-book;  and  they  read,  for 
criticism  and  discussion  in  the  classroom,  speci- 
mens of  the  best  modern  English  prose.  The  spec- 
imens selected  for  such  reading  and  criticism  this 
year  are  taken  from  Genung's  Handbook  of  Rhe- 
torical Analysis.  Five  times  a  fortnight  during 
the  first  half  year. 

Course  II  is  required  of  all  Sophomores. 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  TO  ENGLISH  LITERA- 
TURE 

This  course  was  originally  announced  in 
1873-1874  in  the  list  of  junior  electives  in 
the  following  words : 

RHETORIC  AND  ENGLISH  LITERATURE. — Whate- 
ly's  Rhetoric;  Taine's  English  Literature  (Fiske's 
Abridgment) ;  Historical  and  Critical  Study  of 
English  Classics — Clarendon  Press  Editions  of 
Chaucer,  Spenser,  Shakespeare,  and  Pope;  Ab- 

314 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

bott's   Shakespearean  Grammar.     Five  hours   a 
fortnight. 

Aside  from  changes  of  texts  the  only  sig- 
nificant modification  in  the  announcement  of 
this  course  in  the  next  ten  years  appeared  in 
1881-1882,  when  the  following  clause  was 
included : 

Selected  courses  of  reading,  with  examinations.1 

The  announcement  for  1884-1885  fully 
sets  forth  the  nature  and  details  of  the 
changes  thus  involved  as  follows: 

III.  Junior  Year.— The  study  of  English  lit- 
erature is  optional  during  the  Junior  and  Senior 
years.  The  Junior  class,  the  present  year — open, 
like  all  Junior  elective  classes,  to  Seniors  as  well 
as  Juniors — contains  8  Seniors,  36  Juniors,  and 
4  Special  Students.  It  meets  on  alternate  days 
throughout  the  year.  The  work  of  this  class  may 
be  divided  into  three  parts. 

1.  It  is  desired,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  stu- 
dent should  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  main  facts 
in  the  history  of  our  literature.  For  this  pur- 
pose, the  class  reads,  for  regular  recitation,  Stop- 
ford  Brooke's  Primer  of  English  Literature. 
The  lessons  assigned  from  it  are  made  very  short, 
partly  that  there  may  be  opportunity,  during  the 
hour  of  recitation,  for  discussion  and  frequent 

,l  See  above,  page  303. 

315 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

half-hour  lectures,  and  partly  that  members  of 
the  class  may  find  time  to  devote  to  the  other 
portions  of  the  work  described  below. 

£.  It  is  desired,  secondly,  that  the  class  shall 
during  the  year  read  critically  at  least  two  or 
three  representative  specimens  of  our  best  litera- 
ture. The  last  recitation  of  each  week  is  given  to 
this  exercise.  The  works  selected  this  year  are 
Chaucer's  Prologue  to  the  Canterbury  Tales,  and 
the  Nonne  Frees tes  Tale,  one  canto  of  Spenser's 
Faery  Queen,  Shakespeare's  Hamlet,  and  selec- 
tions from  Pope's  Satires.  Members  of  the  class 
are  expected  to  inform  themselves  upon  the  his- 
tory of  these  writings  and  upon  the  life  and  times 
of  their  authors,  and  to  read  them  with  minute 
care  in  preparation  for  the  recitation  and  criti- 
cism of  the  classroom.  Four  or  five  lectures  upon 
these  selected  authors  are  read  by  the  professor 
before  the  class. 

It  is  hoped  that  this  careful  study  of  the  liter- 
ature itself  in  some  of  its  best  specimens  may  not 
only  educate  the  taste  and  stimulate  an  interest 
in  the  highest  literature,  but  may  also  cultivate 
that  habit  of  thorough  and  critical  reading  need- 
ful for  the  appreciation  of  what  is  best  in  letters. 

3.  The  third  part  of  the  work  of  this  class  is 
a  brief  course  of  collateral  reading.  Several  dif- 
ferent courses  are  laid  out  by  the  professor  at 
the  beginning  of  the  year,  from  which  each  mem- 
ber of  the  class  must  select  one.  Each  course 
contains  a  few  of  the  most  representative  writings 

316 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

of  a  limited  period.  The  courses  for  the  present 
year  are  five,  as  follows : 

COURSE  I.  Marlowe's  Faustus  and  Greene's 
Friar  Bacon;  Shakespeare — four  plays  and  ten 
sonnets ;  Bacon's  Essays — selections ;  Milton's 
L' Allegro,  II  Penseroso,  Comus,  Lycidas,  Paradise 
Lost  (Book  I),  Samson  Agonistes. 

COURSE  II.  Johnson's  Lives  of  Milton,  Dryden, 
Swift,  Addison,  Pope,  and  Gray;  Milton's  Comus 
and  Paradise  Lost  (Book  7);  Dryden's  Absalom 
and  Achitophel;  Swift's  Tale  of  a  Tub,  Journal  to 
Stella,  letters  I-XII;  Addison's  Spectator— 25 
selected  papers;  Pope's  Rape  of  the  Lock;  Gray's 
Elegy. 

COURSE  III.  Thackeray's  Lectures  on  Swift, 
Addison,  Steele,  Prior,  Gay,  Pope,  Sterne,  and 
Goldsmith ;  Swift's  Tale  of  a  Tub,  Battle  of  the 
Books,  Journal  to  Stella,  letters  I-XII ;  Addison's 
Spectator — 20  selected  papers;  Steele's  Tatler — 
12  selected  papers ;  Goldsmith's  Deserted  Village, 
Retaliation,  and  Vicar  of  Wakefield;  Leslie  Ste- 
phen's Johnson,  chaps,  iii,  iv. 

COURSE  IV.  Leslie  Stephen's  Johnson,  chaps, 
iii,  iv;  Macaulay's  Life  of  Johnson;  Johnson's 
Rasselas  and  Vanity  of  Human  Wishes;  Cowper's 
Task,  Book  I;  Burke's  two  American  Speeches, 
Reflections  on  the  Revolution  in  France  (the  first 
half),  Letter  to  a  Noble  Lord;  Burns — selected 
poems. 

COURSE  V.  Burns — selections;  Wordsworth — 
selected  poems  in  Arnold's  edition;  Shelley — se- 

317 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

lected  poems  in  Stopford  Brooke's  edition ;  Keats' 
Hyperion,  Odes,  and  Sonnets;  Byron — one  canto 
of  CTiilde  Harold;  Lamb — selections  from  the  Es- 
says of  Elia;  De  Quincey's  Recollections  of  Lamb 
and  Wordsworth,  Suspiria  de  Profundis;  Shairp's 
Essay  on  Wordsworth. 

With  each  of  these  courses  is  given  to  the  stu- 
dent a  short  list  of  the  books  which  he  may  con- 
sult with  advantage  for  the  history  and  criticism 
of  the  literature  he  is  reading.  It  is  believed  that 
such  a  brief  course  of  reading  not  only  cultivates 
a  taste  for  what  is  best  in  letters,  but  also  gives 
the  student  an  intelligent  notion  of  the  relations 
of  literature  to  the  social  and  political  history  of 
the  period  in  which  it  was  produced,  such  as  he 
could  hardly  gain  from  a  text-book.  The  care 
with  which  the  reading  is  done  is  tested  by  a  series 
of  written  examinations  held  at  stated  intervals 
throughout  the  year. 

From  1886-1887  to  1889-1890  inclusive, 
the  meetings  of  the  class  were  reduced  to 
three  times  a  fortnight,  but  with  the  separa- 
tion of  departments  in  1890-1891  the  meet- 
ings of  the  class  were  changed  to  twice  a 
week,  and  in  1896-1897  were  further  in- 
creased to  three  times  a  week.  The  an- 
nouncement in  the  catalogue  for  1898-1899, 
the  last  year  that  this  course  was  a  Junior 
elective,  read  as  follows: 
318 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

I.  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  TO  ENGLISH  LITER- 
ATURE. 1.  An  outline  of  the  history  of  the  liter- 
ature. Stopford  Brooke's  English  Literature, 
with  lectures.  First  half  year.  2.  Classroom 
reading  and  discussion  of  literary  masterpieces. 
The  works  selected  are :  Chaucer's  Prologue  to  the 
Canterbury  Tales,  and  the  Nonne  Freest es  Tale; 
Shakespeare's  Hamlet;  selections  from  Pope's 
Satires.  Second  half  year.  3.  A  brief  course  of 
collateral  reading,  with  written  recitations  and 
essays  upon  subjects  drawn  from  the  reading. 
Members  of  the  class  may  choose  any  one  of  the 
courses  in  Winchester's  Five  Short  Courses  of 
Reading  in  English  Literature.  These  courses 
consist  of  selections  from  the  following  authors: 

(1)  1559-1674.      Marlowe,      Greene,      Shake- 
speare, Bacon,  Milton. 

(2)  1660-1745.       Dryden,     Addison,     Steele, 
Swift;  with  Johnson's  Lives   of  Dryden,   Swift, 
and  Pope,  and  Thackeray's  Lectures  on  the  Eng- 
lish Humorists. 

(3)  1745-1789.      Gray,    Goldsmith,    Johnson, 
Burke,  Cowper,  Burns ;  with  Leslie  Stephen's  Life 
of  Johnson,  Dobson's  Life  of  Goldsmith,  Morley's 
Life  of  Burke. 

(4)  1789-1832.      Wordsworth,    Coleridge,   De 
Quincey,  Lamb,  Byron,  Shelley,  Keats. 

(5)  1832-1880.       Carlyle,     Ruskin,     Matthew 
Arnold,  Browning,  Tennyson.     Mon.,  Wed.,  Fri., 
at  H.    11  S.  C.  (V.) 

Course  I  is  elective  for  Juniors. 
319 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

In  1899-1900  the  course  became  for  the 
first  time  a  sophomore  elective,  and  the 
meetings  were  twice  a  week.  This  arrange- 
ment continued  through  1911-1912. 

From  1912-1913  to  1915-1916  and  again 
in  1917-1918,  the  course  was  given  three 
times  a  week  by  Professor  Winchester  with 
the  aid  of  an  instructor.  In  1916-1917,  ow- 
ing to  Professor  Winchester's  absence  on 
leave  for  part  of  the  year,  the  course  was 
entirely  in  charge  of  Assistant  Professor 
Gillet.  In  1918-1919  Professor  Winchester 
transferred  the  charge  of  this  course  to  Pro- 
fessor Farley. 

The  announcement  for  1911-1912,  the 
last  year  that  Professor  Winchester  had  sole 
charge  of  the  course,  was  the  first  occasion 
on  which  his  list  of  readings  was  omitted 
from  the  catalogue  statement,  which  was 
changed  to  read  as  follows : 

I.  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  TO  ENGLISH  LITER- 
ATURE. An  outline  of  the  history  of  the  litera- 
ture, with  classroom  reading  and  discussion  of 
representative  works  illustrative  of  different  vari- 
eties and  periods  of  English  Literature.  Moody 
and  Lovett's  History  of  English  Literature  is  used 
as  a  text-book,  with  Cunliife,  Pyre,  and  Young's 
320 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

Century  Readings  for  a  Course  in  English  Liter- 
ature.   Mon.,  Wed.,  at  12.    14  F.  H.  (V.) 
Course  I  is  elective  for  Sophomores. 

The  following  was  the  announcement  for 
the  course  for  1917-1918,  the  last  year  in 
which  Professor  Winchester  shared  in  its 
direction : 

I.  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  TO  ENGLISH  LITER- 
ATURE. An  outline  of  the  history  of  the  litera- 
ture, with  classroom  reading  and  discussion  of 
representative  works  illustrative  of  different  vari- 
eties and  periods  of  English  literature.  Moody 
and  Lovett's  History  of  English  Literature  is 
used  as  a  text-book,  with  Cunliffe,  Pyre,  and 
Young's  Century  Readings  for  a  Course  in  Eng- 
lish Literature.  SECTION  1,  Mon.,  Wed.,  Fri.9 
at  12.  SECTION  2,  Mon.,  at  12;  Tu.,  Th.,  at  8. 
14  F.  H.  (sections  in  12  F.  H.).  PROFESSOR  WIN- 
CHESTER and  MR.  JACOB Y.  (V.) 

Course  I  is  elective  for  Sophomores. 

LITERATURE  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  QUEEN  ANNE 

Given  as  senior  elective,  1881-1882;  1882- 
1883;  1893-1894;  and  1895-1896. 

The  first  announcement  of  this  course  ap- 
peared in  the  catalogue  for  1881-1882,  under 
the  heading  of  senior  electives,  in  the  follow- 
ing words: 

321 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

ENGLISH  LITERATURE. — Literature  of  the  Pe- 
riod of  Queen  Anne.  Lectures  on  the  history  of 
the  period;  criticism  and  discussion  of  represen- 
tative authors.  Five  hours  a  fortnight. 

The  announcements  for  the  last  two  years, 
in  order,  were: 

III.  ENGLISH  LITERATURE  of  the  Period  of 
Queen  Anne,  1700-1745.  Defoe,  Steele,  Addison, 
Swift,  Pope.  Critical  reading  and  discussion; 
lectures.  Twice  (counting  as  three  times)  a 
week. 

Courses  II  and  III  are  elective  (with  some  re- 
strictions) for  those  who  have  taken  Course  I. 
Course  III  will  be  omitted  in  1894-95.  Course  II 
is  omitted  the  present  year. 

and: 

II.  ENGLISH  LITERATURE  of  the  Period  of 
Queen  Anne,  1700-1745.  Defoe,  Steele,  Addison, 
Swift,  Pope.  Critical  reading  and  discussion; 
lectures.  Section  I,  Mon.,  Wed.,  Fri.,  at  10  (first 
term);  Mon.,  Wed.,  at  10  (second  term).  Section 
II,  Mon.,  Wed.,  Fri.,  at  12  (-first  term);  Mon., 
Wed.,  at  12  (second  term). 

Course  II  counts  as  three  times  a  week  for  the 
year. 

Courses  II  and  III  are  elective  (with  some  re- 
strictions) for  those  who  have  taken  Course  I. 
Course  II  will  be  omitted  in  1896-97.  Course  III 
is  omitted  the  present  year. 

322 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

Given  as  senior  seminary,  1900-1901; 
1902-1903;  1903-1904;  and  1910-1911.  The 
announcement  for  the  first  of  these  years 
read: 

IV.  LITERATURE  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  QUEEN 
ANNE.  Defoe,  Steele,  Addison,  Swift,  Boling- 
broke,  Pope.  Mon.,  Wed.,  Fri.,  at  8.  56  N.  C.  ( I. ) 

Course  IV  is  elective,  with  some  restrictions,  for 
those  who  have  taken  Course  I  and  are  taking 
either  Course  II  or  Course  VI. 

In  the  last  year  the  following  was  the  an- 
nouncement : 

VI.  LITERATURE  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  QUEEN 
ANNE.  Defoe,  Steele,  Addison,  Swift,  Boling- 
broke,  Pope.  Mon.,  Wed.,  at  11.  23  F.  H.  (IV.) 

Courses  V,  VI,  and  VII  are  elective,  with  the 
permission  of  the  instructor,  for  those  who  have 
taken  Course  I,  either  Course  II,  Course  III,  or 
Course  IV,  and  Course  VIII.  Courses  V  and  VII 
are  omitted  the  present  year. 

This  course,  in  its  two  forms,  was  given 
in  eight  different  years. 

ENGLISH    LITERATURE,    1789-1832 

Given  as  senior  elective  in  1883-1884; 
1884-1885;  1885-1886;  1886-1887;  1887- 
1888;  1891-1892;  1897-1898;  and  1899- 
1900. 

323 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

The  first  announcement  of  this  course  ap- 
peared in  the  catalogue  for  1883-1884,  under 
the  heading  of  senior  electives,  as  follows: 

ENGLISH  LITERATURE. — Literature  of  the  Pe- 
riod of  George  III.  Lectures  on  the  history  of 
the  period;  criticism  and  discussion  of  represen- 
tative authors.  Five  hours  a  fortnight. 

In  1884-1885,  when  the  practice  was  be- 
gun of  listing  courses  in  the  catalogue  by 
departments,  the  statement  took  the  follow- 
ing form: 

IV.  In  the  Senior  year  an  advanced  class  in 
English  Literature  is  formed,  open  only  to  a  lim- 
ited number  of  those  who  have  pursued  in  the 
Junior  year  the  course  just  described.  This  class 
numbers  this  year  1  graduate  student,  13  Seniors, 
and  2  Special  Students;  it  recites  two  hours  a 
day  on  alternate  days  throughout  the  year.  The 
object  of  the  study  of  this  class  is  to  gain  a  some- 
what thorough  knowledge  of  the  literature  of 
some  brief  period.  The  period  chosen  for  the 
study  of  the  present  year  is  that  embraced  be- 
tween the  years  1789  and  1832.  A  course  of  lec- 
tures is  given  the  class,  during  the  first  six  weeks 
of  the  term,  upon  the  history  of  this  period,  espe- 
cially in  its  relations  to  literature.  Then  the 
principal  works  of  Burke  (after  1789),  Burns, 
Wordsworth,  Coleridge,  De  Quincey,  Lamb,  Scott, 
Byron,  Shelley,  and  Keats  are  divided  among  the 
324 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

members  of  the  class  for  reading.  They  read 
these  works,  and,  in  turn,  present  before  the  class 
careful  analyses  and  full  discussions  of  what  they 
have  read.  In  this  manner  every  member  of  the 
class  either  reads  himself  or  hears  discussed  at 
length  nearly  every  one  of  the  most  important 
specimens  of  our  literature  during  the  period  stud- 
ied. The  regular  discussions  of  the  classroom  are 
supplemented  by  a  course  of  lectures  upon  the 
period.  The  class  are  required  to  take  notes  of 
all  discussions,  and  the  thoroughness  with  which 
the  work  is  done  is  tested  by  a  series  of  written 
examinations. 

In  1899-1900  the  announcement  was  in 
the  following  form : 

II.  ENGLISH     POETRY,      1789-1832.        Burns, 
Wordsworth,   Coleridge,   Southey,   Scott,   Byron, 
Shelley,  Keats.     Critical  reading  and  discussion; 
lectures.      SECTION   1,   Mon.,    Wed.,   Fri.,   at   9; 
SECTION  2,  Mon.,  Wed.,  Fri.,  at  11.  56  N.  C.  (II.) 

Course  II  is  elective  (with  some  restrictions) 
for  those  who  have  taken  Course  I. 

In  1901-1902  the  course  was  changed  to 
a  junior  elective,  with  the  following  an- 
nouncement : 

III.  ENGLISH     POETRY,     1789-1832.       Burns, 
Wordsworth,    Coleridge,    Scott,    Byron,    Shelley, 
Keats.    Mon.,  Wed.t  Fri.,  at  9.    11  S.  C.         (II.) 

325 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

Course  III  is  elective  for  those  who  have  taken 
Course  I.  Courses  II  and  III  are  given  in  alter- 
nate years.  Course  II  being  omitted  the  present 
year. 

The  course  was  given  in  this  form  in  1901- 
1902;  1903-1904;  1906-1907;  1908-1909; 
1911-1912;  and  1913-1914,  in  which  year  the 
announcement  was  in  the  following  terms: 

III.  ENGLISH  POETRY,  1789-1832.  Burns, 
Wordsworth,  Coleridge,  Scott,  Byron,  Shelley, 
Keats.  Mon.,  Wed.,  Fri.,  at  9.  14  F.  H.  PRO- 
FESSOR WINCHESTER.  (H«) 

Courses  II  and  III  are  elective  for  those  who 
have  taken  Course  I.  Course  II  is  omitted  in 
1913-14. 

A  portion  of  the  course  was  given  as  a 
junior  elective  during  the  first  semester  of 
1916-1917,  with  the  following  statement: 

III.  BURNS,  WORDSWORTH,  COLERIDGE.  Mon., 
Wed.,  Fri.,  at  9  (first  half  year).  14  F.  H.  PRO- 
FESSOR WINCHESTER.  (H-) 

Courses  II-V  are  elective  for  those  who  have 
taken  Course  I.  Courses  II,  IV,  and  V  are  omit- 
ted in  1916^17. 

In  all,  this  course  was  given  in  fourteen 
different  years. 

326 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

ENGLISH    LITERATURE,    1830-1880 

Given  as  senior  elective  in  1888-1889; 
1889-1890;  1890-1891;  1892-1893;  1894- 
1895;  1896-1897;  1898-1899;  and  1900-1901. 
The  first  catalogue  announcement  read  as 
follows : 

IV.  ENGLISH  LITERATURE  from  1830  to  1880, 
especially  as  represented  in  the  work  of  Carlyle, 
Tennyson,  and  Browning.  Members  of  the  class 
will  read  carefully  the  principal  writings  of  these 
authors;  will  consider  their  attitude  toward  the 
leading  movements  in  thought  and  in  society  dur- 
ing a  half  century ;  and  will  prepare  abstracts  and 
critical  studies  of  what  they  read,  for  discussion 
before  the  class.  Five  times  a  fortnight. 

Course  IV  is  open  only  to  those  who  have  taken 
Course  III. 

In  1900-1901  the  wording  of  the  an- 
nouncement was: 

II.  ENGLISH  LITERATURE  OF  THE  VICTORIAN 
PERIOD.  Carlyle,  Ruskin,  Arnold,  Tennyson, 
Browning.  Hon.,  Wed.,  at  9.  11  S.  C. 

Course  II  is  elective  for  those  who  have  taken 
Course  I.  (II.) 

Given  as  a  junior  elective  in  1902-1903; 
1904-1905;  1909-1910;  1913-1914;  and  1914- 
327 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

1915.    The  announcements  for  the  first  and 
last  of  these  dates  were : 

II.  ENGLISH  LITERATURE  OF  THE  VICTORIAN 
PERIOD.  Carlyle,  Ruskin,  Arnold,  Tennyson, 
Browning.  Hon.,  Wed.,  Fri.,  at  9.  11  S.  C.  (II.) 

Course  II  is  elective  for  those  who  have  taken 
Course  I. 

and: 

IV.  VICTORIAN  LITERATURE.  Carlyle,  Ruskin, 
Browning,  Tennyson.  Mon.,  Wed.,  Fri.,  at  9. 
14  F.  H.  PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER.  (H-) 

Courses  II-V  are  elective  for  those  who  have 
taken  Course  I.  Courses  II  and  III  are  omitted 
in  1914-15. 

In  1916-1917  a  portion  of  this  course  was 
given  in  the  first  semester  as  the  senior  sem- 
inary, and  in  1917-1918,  the  whole  course 
furnished  the  subject  for  the  senior  semi- 
nary, with  the  following  announcements: 

X.  STUDIES  IN  THE  POETRY  OF  BROWNING  AND 
TENNYSON.  Mon.,  Wed.,  Fri.,  at  11.  23  F.  H. 
PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER.  (IV.) 

Courses  VIII-X  are  elective,  with  the  permis- 
sion of  the  instructor,  for  those  who  have  taken 
Course  I,  and  either  Course  II  or  Course  III. 
Courses  VIII  and  IX  are  omitted  in  1916-17. 

VII.  LITERATURE  OF  THE  VICTORIAN  PERIOD. 
Carlyle,  Ruskin,  Browning,  Tennyson.  Mon., 

328 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

Wed.,  at  11.     23  F.  H.     PROFESSOR  WINCHES- 
TER. (IV.) 
Courses  V-VII  are  elective,  with  the  permission 
of  the  instructor,  for  those  who  have  taken  Course 

I,  and  either  Course  II  or  Course  III.     Courses 
V  and  VI  are  omitted  in  1917-18. 

Altogether,  this  course  was  given  fifteen 
times. 

ESSAYISTS    AND    REVIEWERS    OF    THE    EARLY 
NINETEENTH    CENTURY 

Given  as  the  senior  seminary  in  1901- 
1902;  1906-1907;  1907-1908;  1908-1909; 
1911-1912;  1914-1915;  and  1919-1920.  For 
the  first  of  these  dates  the  announcement 
was: 

V.  ESSAYISTS  AND  REVIEWERS  OF  THE  EARLY 
NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  Jeffrey,  Hazlitt,  De 
Quincey,  Lamb,  Wilson,  Hunt.  Mon.,  Wed.,  at 

II.  56  N.  C.  (IV.) 
Course  V  is  elective,  with  some  restrictions,  for 

those  who  have  taken  Course  I,  either  Course  II 
or  Course  III,  and  Course  VI.  Courses  IV  and  V 
are  given  in  alternate  years,  Course  IV  being  omit- 
ted the  present  year. 

The  announcement  in  the  last  year  was: 
VII.  STUDIES  IN  THE  EARLY  NINETEENTH  CEN- 
329 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

TURY  ESSAY.  Tu.,   Th.,  Sat.,  at  10.     23  F.  H. 
PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER.  (1^0 

Course  VII  is  elective,  with  the  permission  of 
the  instructor,  for  Seniors  who  have  previously 
taken  Course  I  and  one  other  course. 

This  course  was  given  in  seven  different 
years. 

NEW   ENGLAND   LITERATURE 

Given  as  senior  seminary  in  1904-1905; 
1905-1906;  1909-1910;  1912-1913;  and  1918- 
1919. 

The  first  announcement  of  this  course 
read: 

IV.  NEW  ENGLAND  LITERATURE,  1835-1885. 
Emerson,  Longfellow,  Lowell,  Hawthorne,  Whit- 
tier,  Holmes.  Mon.9  Wed.,  at  11.  23  F.  H.  (IV.) 

Courses  IV,  V,  and  VI  are  elective,  with  some 
restrictions,  for  those  who  have  taken  Course  I, 
either  Course  II  or  Course  III,  and  Course  VII. 
Courses  V  and  VI  are  omitted  the  present  year. 

The  last  announcement  of  this  course 
read: 

VIII+.  STUDIES  IN  NEW  ENGLAND  LITERA- 
TURE. Tu.,  Th.,  Sat.,  at  10.  23  F.  H.  PROFES- 
SOR WINCHESTER.  (LX.) 

Courses  VII  and  VIII  are  elective,  with  the 
permission  of  the  instructor,  for  those  who  have 

330 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

taken  Course  I  and  one  other  course  in  the  depart- 
ment.   Course  VII  is  omitted  in  1918-19. 

This  course  was  given  in  five  different 
years. 

SIX   PLAYS  OF  SHAKESPEARE 

Given  as  a  junior  elective  in  1905-1906; 
1907-1908;  1910-1911;  1912-1913;  1915- 
1916;  1917-1918;  1919-1920.  For  the  first 
year  the  announcement  was  as  follows : 

II.  Six  REPRESENTATIVE  PLAYS  OF  SHAKE- 
SPEARE. A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream,  Henry 
IV,  As  You  Like  It,  Othello,  Antony  and  Cleopa- 
tra, The  Winter's  Tale.  Sidney  Lee's  Life  and 
Works  of  Shakespeare.  Mon.,  Wed.,  Fri.,  at  9. 
14  F.  H.  (II.) 

Courses  II,  III,  and  IV  are  elective  for  those 
who  have  completed  Course  I.  Courses  III  and 
IV  are  omitted  the  present  year. 

The  announcement  for  the  last  year  read : 

V.  Six  PLAYS  OF  SHAKESPEARE.  Tu.,  Th.,  Sat., 
at  11.  11  F.  H.  PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER.  (X.) 

Course  V  is  elective  for  those  who  have  taken 
Course  I. 

This  course  was  given*  seven  times. 

POLITICAL,    WRITINGS    OF    BURKE 

This  course,  born  of  war-time  conditions, 
331 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

was  given  only  once,  namely,  in  1918-1919. 
In  creating  this  new  course  at  seventy-two, 
Professor  Winchester  displayed  the  same 
thoroughness  of  preparation  and  the  same 
freshness  of  spirit  that  had  marked  his  entry 
into  new  fields  in  his  earlier  years.  The 
course  was  a  junior  elective  and  the  form  of 
the  announcement  was: 

VI+.  STUDIES  IN  THE  POLITICAL  WRITINGS  OF 
EDMUND  BURKE.  Tu.,  Th.t  Sat.,  at  11.  11  F.  H. 
PROFESSOR  WINCHESTER.  (  X. ) 

Courses  II- VI  are  elective  for  those  who  have 
taken  Course  I.  Courses  III-V  are  omitted  in 
1918-19. 

ELEMENTS  OF  LITERARY   CRITICISM 

Given  as  a  junior  elective  every  year  from 
1891-1892  to  1919-1920,  inclusive,  with  the 
exception  of  1916-1917  and  1918-1919,  or 
in  twenty-seven  years. 

In  the  first  year  the  announcement  was 
made  in  the  following  terms: 

III.  THE  ELEMENTS  OF  LITERARY  CRITICISM. 
A  course  of  lectures  upon  the  essential  elements 
and  the  various  forms  of  literature.  Once  a  week. 

Course  III  is  elective  for  those  who  have  taken 
Course  I. 

332 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

In  the  last  year  the  announcement  took 
the  following  form: 

VI.  ELEMENTS  OF  LITERARY  CRITICISM.  Dis- 
cussion of  the  essential  elements  and  the  various 
forms  of  literature,  with  practical  exercises  in  the 
application  of  critical  principles.  Winchester's 
Principles  of  Literary  Criticism  is  used  as  a  text- 
book. Sat.,  at  8.  29  F.  H.  PROFESSOR  WIN- 
CHESTER. (VII.) 

Course  VI  is  elective  for  those  who  have  taken 
Course  I. 

RHETORICAL    EXERCISES 

In  1883-1884,  and  for  many  years  previ- 
ous, the  catalogue  contained  in  the  list  of 
required  studies  for  the  freshman,  sopho- 
more, and  junior  years,  the  entry 

Rhetorical  exercises.  Compositions  and  dec- 
lamations. 

and  for  the  senior  year 

Rhetorical  exercises.  Forensics,  essays,  or 
original  declamations. 

The  catalogue  for  1884-1885  in  the  state- 
ment for  the  department  of  rhetoric  and 
English  literature,  contained  the  following 
entry,  which  reappeared  in  each  succeeding 
year  to  1889-1890,  except  that  the  first  two 
333 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

sentences  relating  to  the  freshman  require- 
ment were  omitted  from  1887-1888  onward, 
in  which  year  the  content  of  the  required 
freshman  course  was  correspondingly  al- 
tered.1 

V.  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  The  Freshmen  pre- 
sent, once  in  two  weeks,  exercises  in  the  simpler 
forms  of  composition,  which  are  discussed  before 
the  class.  This  work  is  under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  W.  E.  Mead.2  Every  member  of  the  Sopho- 
more and  Junior  classes  is  required  to  write  nine 
essays  in  the  year;  every  Senior  must  write  an 
argument  for  debate  before  his  class,  and  either 
four  essays  or  two  public  orations.  All  these  ex- 
ercises are  read  and  corrected  by  the  Professor 
of  Rhetoric.  The  Sophomores  meet  also  nine 
times  a  year  for  general  oral  discussion  and  crit- 
icism of  their  themes;  and  every  member  of  the 
Junior  class  meets  the  Professor  privately,  once  a 
term,  for  individual  criticism  upon  his  work. 

After  the  division  of  the  department  in 
1890-1801,  Professor  Winchester  retained 
charge  only  of  the  senior  rhetorical  exer- 
cises. 

SENIOR  RHETORICALS 

From  1890-1891  to  1909-1910,  twenty 
years,  Professor  Winchester  had  charge  of 

*See  above,  page  310.  2See  above,  page  304. 

334 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

the  rhetorical  work  required  of  all  seniors. 
Beginning  in  1890-1891  the  announcement 
for  many  years  read : 

III.  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  The  rhetorical  ex- 
ercises of  the  Senior  class  are  assigned  to  this 
department.  Every  Senior  must  write  an  argu- 
ment for  debate  before  his  class,  and  either  four 
essays  or  two  public  orations.  All  written  work 
receives  the  personal  criticism  of  the  Professor, 
and  the  orations  are  also  rehearsed  before  the 

Professor  of  Elocution. 

< 

In  1905-1906,  the  statement  was  changed 
to  read: 

X.  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  The  rhetorical  ex- 
ercises of  the  Senior  class  are  assigned  to  this 
department.  Every  Senior  (unless  excused  from 
half  this  requirement  by  the  provisions  of  Course 
IX)  must  write  either  four  essays  or  two  orations. 
All  written  work  receives  the  personal  criticism 
of  the  instructor. 

The  rhetorical  exercises  of  the  Senior  year  are 
rated  as  the  equivalent  of  three  hours'  work  per 
week  for  the  year ;  these  hours  are  required  in  ad- 
dition to  the  minimum  quota  (14)  prescribed  for 
Seniors. 

As  a  result  of  a  general  revision  of  the 
curriculum,  the  announcement  was  further 
modified  in  1908-1909,  as  follows: 
335 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

IX.  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  The  rhetorical  ex- 
ercises of  the  Senior  class  are  assigned  to  this 
department.  Every  Senior  (unless  excused  from 
half  this  requirement  by  the  election  of  Debate 
as  specified  below)  must  write  either  four  essays 
or  two  orations.  All  written  work  receives  the 
personal  criticism  of  the  instructor. 

The  rhetorical  exercises  of  the  Senior  year  are 
rated  as  the  equivalent  of  one  hour's  work  per 
week  for  the  year;  this  hour  is  included  in  the 
minimum  quota  (13)  prescribed  for  Seniors. 

This  senior  requirement  was  last  enforced 
with  the  class  of  1910. 

DEBATE 

Professor  Winchester  offered  this  course 
in  each  of  the  thirteen  years  from  1897-1898 
to  1909-1910  inclusive.  In  the  first  year  the 
announcement  of  the  course  appeared  in  the 
following  form: 

V.  DEBATE.  Weekly  practical  exercises.  Two 
members  of  the  class  are  appointed  to  conduct  the 
debate  at  each  exercise.  They  must  prepare  writ- 
ten briefs  of  their  argument,  which  are  revised  and 
corrected  by  the  instructor,  and  are  then  publicly 
posted  four  days  before  the  debate. 

Course  V  is  elective  for  Seniors,  and  those  who 
elect  it  are  excused  from  half  the  rhetorical  work 
required  in  Course  VI.  Mon.,  at  10.  L.  CH.  &. 

336 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

In  the  last  year  it  was  given,  the  form  of 
the  announcement  was: 

DEBATE.  Weekly  practical  exercises.  Two 
members  of  the  class  are  appointed  to  conduct  the 
debate  at  each  exercise.  They  must  prepare  writ- 
ten briefs  of  their  argument,  which  are  revised 
and  corrected  by  the  instructor,  and  are  then 
publicly  posted  four  days  before  the  debate. 
Mon.,  at  8.  13  F.  H. 

The  course  in  debate  is  elective  for  Seniors,  and 
those  who  elect  it  are  excused  from  half  the  rhe- 
torical work  required  of  Seniors.  It  does  not 
count  in  the  quota  for  graduation,  except  as  part 
of  the  requirement  in  rhetoricals. 

In  1910-1911,  senior  rhetoricals  and  the 
course  in  debate  were  replaced  by  the  follow- 
ing course,  which  was  repeated  without 
change  of  announcement  for  six  successive 
years,  the  last  being  1915-1916. 

A  course  in  Public  Speaking,  elective  for  Se- 
niors, is  given  under  the  direction  of  Professor 
Winchester  and  Mr.  Wetzel.  (See  page  66.) 

The  statement  of  the  Department  of  Pub- 
lic Speaking  on  page  66,  read: 

C.  SENIORS.  A  course  in  the  composition  and 
delivery  of  the  different  forms  of  public  address. 
The  student  is  required  to  deliver  one  original 
speech  before  the  class  each  month.  These  are 

337 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

criticised  by  Professor  Winchester  before  being 
delivered.    Sat.,  at  11.    13  F.  H. 

These  courses  meet  once  a  week  for  twenty 
weeks.  Courses  A  and  B  count  half-an-hour, 
Course  C  one  hour,  for  the  year. 

GRADUATE  INSTRUCTION 

A  special  statement  with  reference  to 
graduate  instruction  in  the  department  first 
appeared  in  the  catalogue  announcement  for 
1891-1892  in  the  following  terms: 

V.  GRADUATE  INSTRUCTION.  Graduate  stu- 
dents in  this  department,  for  the  present  year, 
take  Courses  II  and  III;  and,  in  addition,  are  as- 
signed special  and  more  extended  courses  of  read- 
ing and  investigation  in  the  field  covered  by  Course 
II,  under  the  personal  direction  of  the  Professor. 
The  principal  topics  assigned  for  such  study,  this 
year,  are :  The  Causes  and  Significance  of  the  Ro- 
mantic Movement,  1789-1832;  The  Ethics  of  the 
Period  as  reflected  in  its  Poetry;  and  The  Later 
Revolutionary  Sentiment,  especially  as  illustrated 
in  the  Life  and  Work  of  Shelley. 

Between  1892-1893  and  1897-1898  inclu- 
sive, courses  for  graduate  students  only  were 
announced  in  the  history  of  English  literary 
criticism,  the  poetry  of  Tennyson  and 
Browning,  and  in  the  Elizabethan  drama. 

In  1897-1898  the  announcement  of  these 
338 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

graduate  courses  was  followed  by  the  state- 
ment : 

The  provisions  for  graduate  instruction  in  this 
department  may  be  modified  or  increased  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  needs  or  wishes  of  graduate 
students. 

From  1899-1900  to  1913-1914  inclusive, 
the  departmental  announcement  in  the  cat- 
alogue contained  only  the  following  refer- 
ence to  graduate  instruction: 

Special  provision  for  graduate  instruction  is 
made  to  meet  the  wants  of  individual  students. 

From  1914-1915  onward,  while  no  cata- 
logue statement  appeared,  provision  contin- 
ued to  be  made  for  graduate  study  in  the 
department.  From  1892  to  1917  inclusive 
forty-eight  candidates  who  presented  theses 
in  English  Literature  received  the  master's 
degree. 

HISTORY  OF  ENGLISH  LITERARY  CRITICISM 

This  course  was  offered  to  graduate  stu- 
dents in  each  of  the  six  years  1892-1893  to 
1897-1898  inclusive.  The  announcement 
for  the  first  year  was : 

V.  THE  HISTORY  OF  ENGLISH  LITERARY  CRITI- 
CISM. An  outline  study  of  the  growth  and  devel- 

339 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

opment  of  English  criticism,  and  of  the  changes 
in  critical  standards  from  the  sixteenth  to  the 
nineteenth  century. 

Sidney's  Defense  of  Poesie,  Dryden's  Prefaces 
and  Essay  on  Dramatic  Poetry,  Addison's  Papers 
on  Paradise  Lost,  selections  from  the  critical  writ- 
ings of  Johnson,  and  from  the  Reviewers  of  the 
beginning  of  this  century,  will  be  studied  as  rep- 
resenting various  phases  of  English  critical  opin- 
ion. Tu.,  3:30-5. 

Course  V  is  open  to  graduate  students  only. 

For  the  last  year  it  was : 

VIII.  THE  HISTORY  OF  ENGLISH  LITERARY 
CRITICISM.  An  outline  study  of  the  growth  of  the 
development  of  English  criticism,  and  of  the 
changes  in  critical  standards  and  in  literary  forms 
from  1579  to  1789.  Sidney's  Defense  of  Poesie, 
Dryden's  Prefaces  and  Essay  on  Dramatic  Poetry, 
Addison's  Papers  on  Paradise  Lost,  and  selections 
from  the  critical  writings  of  Johnson  and  Gold- 
smith, will  be  studied  as  representing  various 
phases  of  English  critical  opinion.  Once  a  week. 
56  N.  C. 


THE    POETRY   OF   TENNYSON    AND    BROWNING 

The  following  course  was  offered  to  grad- 
uate students  in  only  a  single  year,  1893- 
1894: 

340 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

VI.  THE  POETRY  OF  TENNYSON  AND  BROWN- 
ING. Critical  reading,  discussion,  lectures.  Once 
a  week. 

Courses  V  and  VI  are  open  to  graduate  students 
only. 

THE   ELIZABETHAN    DRAMA 

Given  for  graduate  students  in  the  three 
years,  1894-1895;  1895-1896;  and  1897- 
1898. 

The  following  was  the  announcement  for 
the  first  year : 

VI.  THE  ELIZABETHAN  DRAMA.     A  survey  of 
the  origins  of  the  Elizabethan  drama  with  some 
notice  of  the  principal  works   of   Shakespeare's 
immediate  predecessors,  followed  by  more  careful 
study  of  a  somewhat  large  group  of  Shakespeare's 
most  important  dramas.    Once  a  week. 

Courses  V  and  VI  are  open  to  graduate  stu- 
dents only. 

This  was  amended  in  the  last  year  to  read: 

VII.  THE  ELIZABETHAN  DRAMA.     A  survey  of 
the  origin  of  the  Elizabethan  drama,  with  some 
notice   of   the  principal  works   of   Shakespeare's 
immediate  predecessors,  followed  by  more  careful 
study  of  a  group  of  Shakespeare's  most  impor- 
tant dramas.    Once  a  week.    56  N.  C. 


341 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

KEQUIREMENTS    FOB    ADMISSION 

As  Professor  Winchester  indicated  in  his 
own  speech  at  the  complimentary  dinner,1 
he  was  for  years  closely  associated  with  the 
various  movements  for  the  establishment  of 
uniform  entrance  requirements,  especially 
in  English.  Apparently  the  first  suggestion 
of  this  sort  originated  with  the  Association 
of  Colleges  in  New  England  in  the  autumn 
of  1878  and  as  a  result  of  these  proposals 
and  others  made  in  the  autumn  of  1879,  a 
group  of  New  England  colleges  joined  in 
establishing  uniform  requirements  for  ad- 
mission in  several  of  the  departments  includ- 
ing English.  The  action  of  the  Wesleyan 
faculty  was  taken  in  this  matter  on  Novem- 
ber 16th,  1880,  and  the  statement  of  the  en- 
trance requirements  in  English,  as  thus  out- 
lined, first  appeared  in  the  catalogue  for 
1880-1881.  These  new  requirements  re- 
placed the  somewhat  perfunctory  tests  of 
earlier  years  which  Professor  Winchester 
described  in  his  address.2 

In  1885  there  was  formed  the  Commis- 


above,  page  108. 
2  See  above,  page  105. 

342 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

sion  of  New  England  Colleges  on  Entrance 
Examinations  which  extended  and  carried 
forward  the  work  previously  mentioned. 
From  this  commission  and  a  similar  commis- 
sion in  the  middle  states,  there  arose  sug- 
gestion for  a  joint  conference  on  uniform 
entrance  requirements  in  English.  At  this 
conference,  which  was  held  in  Philadelphia 
in  May,  1894,  Professor  Winchester  was 
chairman  of  the  New  England  delegation. 
The  result  of  the  labors  of  this  conference 
is  to  be  found  in  the  establishment  of  the 
National  Conference  on  Uniform  Entrance 
Requirements  in  English,  and  in  the  new 
entrance  requirements  in  English  which 
were  adopted  by  the  Wesleyan  faculty  in 
October,  1894,  and  printed  in  the  catalogue 
for  1894-1895. 

In  1906  there  was  organized  the  Confer- 
ence of  New  England  Colleges  on  Entrance 
Requirements  in  English.  Professor  Win- 
chester was  elected  President  of  this  confer- 
ence and  chairman  of  its  executive  commit- 
tee and  held  this  position  until  1916  when  he 
declined  re-election. 

Further  changes  recommended  by  this 
conference  were  adopted  in  1909  and  printed 
343 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

in  the  Wesleyan  catalogue  for  1909-1910. 
The  National  Conference  on  Uniform  En- 
trance Requirements  in  English  in  1914 
made  recommendations  which  were  ap- 
proved by  the  College  Entrance  Examina- 
tion Board  and  which  are  set  forth  in  the 
Wesleyan  catalogue  for  1914-1915.  These 
requirements  were  further  modified  and  the 
statement  of  them  appears  in  the  Wesleyan 
catalogue  for  1919-1920. 

Until  1912  Professor  Winchester  was 
usually,  if  not  invariably,  one  of  the  New 
England  delegates  to  the  National  Confer- 
ence on  Uniform  Entrance  Requirements 
in  English.  Of  his  work  in  that  conference 
Dr.  Wilson  Farrand,  headmaster  of  the 
Newark  Academy,  for  many  years  secretary 
of  the  conference,  has  written: 

In  this  meeting  [1894],  as  in  the  subsequent 
meetings  of  the  conference,  Professor  Winchester 
was  a  notable  figure.  He  was  not  especially  con- 
versant with  the  details  of  school  work  and  he  was 
not  an  aggressive  fighter,  but  his  wonderful  ac- 
quaintance with  English  literature,  his  unfailing 
courtesy  and  good  nature,  his  calm  judgment, 
and  his  thorough  good  sense,  did  much  to  bring 
about  harmony  between  the  opposing  factions. 

The  same  qualities  which  marked  his  work  in 

344 


COURSES  AT  WESLEYAN 

the  first  meeting  naturally  persisted  in  the  others. 
.  .  .  While  thoroughly  receptive  to  new  ideas  and 
perfectly  ready  to  advance,  Professor  Winches- 
ter stood  firmly  for  holding  fast  to  the  things 
which  had  been  proved,  and  for  taking  no  step 
in  advance  until  it  was  reasonably  certain  that  it 
would  be  wisely  taken. 

There  is  little  more  to  be  said  of  his  work  in 
the  conference  than  could  be  said  by  anyone  who 
knew  the  man.  He  was  not  an  aggressive  leader, 
he  never  advocated  or  tried  to  force  through  any- 
thing, but  he  was  one  of  the  wisest  and  sanest  of 
all  the  members  of  the  conference,  and  a  man  who 
carried  great  influence  because  of  his  personality, 
his  scholarship,  and  his  ripe  judgment. 

Of  Professor  Winchester's  services  as 
member  and  president  of  the  Conference  of 
New  England  Colleges  on  Entrance  Re- 
quirements in  English  from  its  establish- 
ment in  1906  until  1916,  Professor  Carroll 
Lewis  Maxcy  of  the  Department  of  Eng- 
lish of  Williams  College,  who  has  been  sec- 
retary-treasurer of  the  conference  from  its 
establishment,  has  written: 

I  can  bear  witness  to  the  interested  part  that 
Professor  Winchester  took  in  all  of  our  work. 
We  regarded  him  unanimously  as  the  "Dean,"  so 
to  speak,  of  the  conference,  and  his  word  and 
judgment  weighed  with  us  as  final  matters.  We 

345 


PROFESSOR   WINCHESTER 

all  realized  the  value  of  his  experience  as  tried 
through  many  years  of  teaching;  we  appreciated 
the  true  worth  of  his  ripe  appreciation  of  all  that 
is  excellent  in  literature;  and  in  the  selection  of 
the  works  to  be  included  in  the  entrance-list  his 
judgment  was  practically  regarded  as  authorita- 
tive. And  no  report  of  our  numerous  gatherings 
would  be  complete  without  mention  of  the  affec- 
tion with  which  we  regarded  him.  I  think  he  often 
looked  on  many  of  us  as  "boys,"  and  he  used  to 
joke  with  us  in  a  fatherly  way  that  I  personally 
shall  always  recall  with  great  pleasure.  Our 
meetings  partook  largely  of  the  nature  of  "re- 
unions"— almost  of  "family  reunions" — and  for 
this  he  was  responsible. 


346 


Wjacl  jnr«n     im 

i.-ov.-i  I... 

W759 

WK1 

osioycLii  un 
Kiddletown. 

-^y* 

Conn« 

IT  O± 

A  memorial 
Thocaas  Wino 

•co  uaieo 
hesterP1847- 

1920 

x^~ 

^^ 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


